Reality today.
For the past couple of days, I have been so burdened with the thought of what could happen to Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. A man who was (to summarize it) sentenced to execution because he refused to recant his Christian faith in Iran.
Today I sat out in beautiful weather at lunch time and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how free we are here in America. As I sat there, I came to the realization that somewhere on this same exact planet, Youcef was facing such persecution.
Here we are complaining about our air conditioning situations or if we spilt coffee on our pants and that just ruins our day, when somewhere else, there is a man who is courageously defending the true word of God by boldly stating his faith, not taking back his statement while it may bring him to the end of his life on earth. I know he’ll be with Jesus and God will be pleased, but still. Death is evil. God is the complete opposite. Even though death has no sting to us anymore, death brings morning, sorrow, and it’s because of sin that we face such a horrible thing. The good news is that God is life. And if we have Jesus as our life, we’re always going to be in the hands of God.
But with this situation it’s heavy on my heart. It’s a reality check to me that if I were in the same exact spot that Youcef were in, would I be that bold too? I know I would never recant my faith in Jesus, but it’s really scary to think of being in that situation. I’m human and it’s totally ok to connect with real emotions like this… it really helps understand the scrutiny in which some people have to go through.
Glory goes to our God who in all things is good. And with Youcef, he has challenged me to check myself and make sure that every day I live, I live it with full appreciation, and that I need to make sure that everything I do, I involve God. If we’re created to glorify God, and yet there is times in a day where he’s not even mentioned, or thought up, we’re just a dud. We are created to GLORIFY GOD. From the first to the last breath. God is why we live.
Lets all pray for Youcef. It would be absolutely incredible if he was released, and they spared his life. He is such a hero and he has been an example to all of how we should live out our faith.
Jesus is good. And he takes care of those who love him!
Phil <><
