What are you willing to die for?
"“A man can only live with so much. True enough. At some point he will have to die for something. If not now, then for an eternity.” Jan stilled at the words, surprised. How much truth was in those few words? At some point he will have to die for something. They could easily be from his own book, and yet spoken here by this stranger they sounded . . . magical."
from "When Heaven Weeps: Newly Repackaged Novel from The Martyr's Song Series (The Heaven Trilogy Book 2)" by Ted Dekker
http://amzn.to/29Zqcqj
We read something like this - and think it means we have to literally die - like stop breathing and get buried six feet under. Not surprising, really. Especially when we realize things like this - from How The twelve Apostles Died <<Fox's Book of Martyrs>>
| Andrew | crucified |
| Bartholomew | beaten, then crucified |
| James, son of Alphaeus | stoned to death |
| James, son of Zebedee | beheaded |
| John | exiled for this faith, died of old age (survived being boiled in oil) |
| Judas (not Iscariot) | stoned to death |
| Matthew | speared to death |
| Peter | crucified upside down (upside down at his request, because he didn't deserve to be right-side up) |
| Philip | crucified |
| Simon | crucified |
| Thomas | speared to death |
| Matthias | stoned to death |
Of course, there's always the way Jesus Himself died -
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27:27-31 pp — Mk 15:16-20
Mt 27:27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
27:33-44 pp — Mk 15:22-32; Lk 23:33-43; Jn 19:17-24
Mt 27:32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
Mt 27:41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
So much death. No wonder that's what we think of.
However!
What I'm about to write here may not sound familiar to you.
Maybe it doesn't remind you of any of the "Christians" that you know.
Maybe it doesn't even sound like anything you've heard in any church you've ever gone to.
But it's all from the Bible - God's own Word.
Not filtered by someone else's perspective - but words straight from the Book.
Not the way we actually do live - but the way we should.
I pray that it makes you think. Even open up a Bible - paper or electronic. And then think some more. Pray even.
There's another death, of sorts, that took place before any of the Apostle's died. One that we don't even think about, probably.
Let's look at when the first two disciples, Simon and Andrew - followed by James and John.
The Calling of the First Disciples
1:16-20 pp — Mt 4:18-22; Lk 5:2-11; Jn 1:35-42
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