By Fenter Northern (Northern Notes)
1. Oh, for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!
2. That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chast’ning rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God.
3. A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt.
I have read the beautiful Bible accounts relating instances when certain children of God were faced with overwhelming persecution for their faith in God. As in the Book of Daniel where three Hebrew children were asked to bow to the pagan image or to be burned alive. They stood firm without a quiver. I search my soul and ask where does such a faith like that come from? Oh, I know Paul says faith comes by hearing the word of God, Romans 10:17. However, I am a student of the word and an instructor of it for many years, and I still ask myself, could I stand firm like that when threatened with being burned alive. Could I, like them in the face of torture, say, “My God will deliver me, but if not, I will not bow to your political image. I pray that I would never be tested like that as it would be an excruciating, painful way to die. Could I do it??
There are equally horrifying stories of Christians standing firm in the face of hungry lions being loosed upon them, also stories of others being crucified head downward, and others burned alive at stakes. These accounts would be shunned as too unpleasant to speak of at a modern Christian thanksgiving dinner. Those horrifying deeds are not fiction stories from some made up horror tale told to entertain ogle-eyed theatre audiences; those Christians were living, breathing souls of whom the world was not worthy. No wonder they cried out, “How long O Lord, how long?” When I think of that, I cringe and wonder could my faith withstand such persecution as that.
One does not know what entering heaven will be exactly like, surely there will be great celebrations; but this I know in my heart; if there are marching celebrations of victory, I would feel unworthy to walk alongside in parade with saints like that. If there are special places in heaven, seems to me, they belong to those brave souls who suffered agony without denying God’s gift of His Son.
But our God is a just God and all will be judged individually in their own time to be born.
God help me to be not as I am,
But what I truly would like to be,
To love and appreciate in my moment while here,
That life waiting in eternity.
We will never know all the answers here, especially about eternity. But for certain, it awaits us. When the moment arrives, how will we receive it? As the question was asked centuries ago, how shall we do in the swelling of the Jordan? That is a very private thing that must be left solely to oneself. But I would like for us to consider this as we pray for a faith that will not shrink.
Consider yourself back in Jerusalem, Christianity is still very young. You are walking down the street and encounter a railing, shouting mob. They are hurling stones at a heroic young Christian man. Stephen is dying because he has exposed the hypocrisy of their religion. Hypocrites do not like that.
They are executing him via mob action for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The heretic must be bludgeoned to death and those who are doing so think they are doing God a service. They are murdering a young Christian in the name of God. Another young Jewish lawyer named Saul was holding their garments while they were doing this – he watches and hears something that will haunt him in the future and change his life.
Stephen falls to the ground with head bowed and blood spattered. The end is near, then suddenly something happens. He manages to lift his torn tormented face to the heaven, which now has the appearance of an angel and utters a cry that has echoed down through the centuries in Holy writ: “I see heaven opened, and the Son of Man standing at the
right hand of God.” Jesus is standing, ready to receive his coming.
Little did Saul know that the heavens would open soon around him also and, he too, would see the same Jesus Stephen had seen. Stephen’s testimony of seeing Jesus had been bothering Saul’s conscience. He had tried to dismiss it, but it would not go away. Jesus took advantage of his painful conscience to give him an opportunity to obey the gospel, become a Christian, and spread salvation over the world.
This gives a broader perspective of why the righteous suffer. Stephen’s dying words, pricked the heart of a persecuting sinner that enabled Jesus to call him into a ministry that has saved untold thousands down through the centuries. So. Stephen’s death, horrible as it was, resulted in mine and your salvation. Therefore, we must stand in mute silence at the mysterious way God works out our salvation.
4. Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
I’ll taste, e’en here,
the hallowed bliss Of an eternal home.