Imperishable Inheritance

As I con­tinue to think, pray, and plan for my trip over­seas I begin to real­ize more and more what the pos­si­ble ram­i­fi­ca­tions of my actions are. The Joshua Project lists Saudia Ara­bia as the 2nd most per­se­cuted coun­try for Chris­tians in the world (to N. Korea which I per­son­ally don’t buy). The Mutawwa’in (Islamic reli­gious police) go around remov­ing any influ­ence non-Muslim, and it is espe­cially bad around Med­ina and Mecca the two holi­est cities in the Islamic faith. Here is one story of per­se­cu­tion:

Mr. Brian O’Connor, a Chris­t­ian ex-pat Indian national, was arrested by the Mut­tawa (reli­gious police) on the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Ara­bia. ICC is being told from a highly rep­utable source that the Mut­tawa abducted, impris­oned, and tor­tured him in a Mosque…Mr. O’Connor has received vis­i­tors and has com­mu­ni­cated that his legs were chained and he was hung upside down and ‘they played foot­ball with me’. ‘The Mut­tawa came in turns of fours and kicked me in the chest and rib area, and this con­tin­ued up to 2 AM on Fri­day morn­ing’. He also says that he was whipped on his back and the soles of his feet by elec­tri­cal wires and is in much pain as he walks. He also reports that he is in intense pain, and thinks that a rib may be bro­ken. The police at the Olaya police sta­tion state that he is being held on account of preach­ing Christianity…

It’s sto­ries like this that really make you think about where you feel as though you should go. I know the Scrip­tural man­date: God wants to make His name known through­out all of His cre­ation by bring­ing a rep­re­sen­ta­tive from every­one of His peo­ple groups (Gen 12:1–3; Psa 46:10; Mal 1:11; Mat 24:14, 28:19; Rev 5:9), but I need to be sure I know what may hap­pen. I need to be con­tin­u­ally aware that I may not come back. I might end up like Mr. O’Connor. I coud lose every­thing. In going there, I was lose all chances of “the Amer­i­can dream;” and I will dis­ap­point my par­ents to a large degree. The ques­tion is now: Who do I trea­sure? Do I trea­sure the things of this life, or do I trea­sure Christ above all?

“Do not store up for your­selves trea­sures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for your­selves trea­sures in heaven, where nei­ther moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your trea­sure is, there your heart will be also.“
Matthew 6:19–21

Peter, after being asked by Jesus three times if he loved Him was told “what kind of death he would glo­rify God” (John 21:18–19). After telling Peter the news, He said, “Fol­low me” (vs. 19). Stephen gives one of the great­est recorded apolo­gies for the Mes­sianic stature of Christ from the known Scrip­tures in Acts 7, and after­ward he was bru­tally stoned. Right before he died, Stephen ripped right to the heart of what it means to fol­low his Rabbi: “‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ Hav­ing said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60).

And how can we take a short look at mar­tyr­dom and not men­tion Christ? In His high priestly prayer of John 17, we see the sub­mis­sion of the Son to the Father. In this prayer, a beau­ti­ful state­ment is made by Christ, “I glo­ri­fied You on the earth, hav­ing accom­plished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). I was chal­lenged on project of reflect­ing on what it would be like to say to Christ, “I glo­ri­fied You on the earth, hav­ing accom­plished the work which You have given Me to do.” How amaz­ing would that be?

In a world where I could die on my way to work, why should I fear dying for the glory of God by exalt­ing His Son to the lost? May God make this desire pure and not to seek the praise or approval of man, and may God purify my desire to lose it all for the sake of the gospel. May I not desire to die for the gospel because it’s “sexy,” but for no other rea­son than to glo­rify God Thank you Father for giv­ing me true purpose—Your purpose.

“Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and pro­claim every­where the king­dom of God.“
Rabbi