Day: 3

Life, Not Death!

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)

Alive?

When my oldest boy was six or seven, he asked me one of his show-stopper philosophical questions:

“Daddy, what does it mean to be alive?”

What a question! He’s full of these types of questions, being an abstract and analytical thinker. I could handle most of his tough questions, but this one, well… it made me pause.

“Hmmm,” I said, “Let’s try and work through that question. First off, it means that you aren’t dead!”

Impressive, right?

Let me pose the same question to you in a simpler manner: When have you felt alive?

Do me a favor and put down your book, tablet, or phone, and dwell on that for a moment.

It might have been a thrilling event you’ve experienced, such as mountain climbing, riding a roller coaster, or scuba diving. Or maybe it’s the euphoria of long-distance running or playing your chosen sport and being in the zone.

Was it when you were experiencing moments of deep togetherness and joy with a group of friends, laughing so hard that your chest hurts? Or when you were experiencing a sense of deep togetherness and comradery?

Was it when you were in love?

Perhaps it was when you were working out your artistic gifts and everything was “flowing,” or when you were enraptured with the beauty of nature.

When a moment is so wonderful that you want to freeze it in time – that’s the marker of being truly alive.

My Top Moments

The examples mentioned above are drawn from my own experiences, times when I felt so alive that I wanted to freeze-frame the moment.

If I could bottle the emotional fullness of those exquisite moments and sell them, I would be immeasurably rich, for they were truly, truly epic, life-filled experiences!

As stunning or special each of those moments in time were, they all pale in comparison to another time when I truly felt alive.

In my twenties, after searching for God for ten years, I found God (or He found me). I was spiritually reborn after He filled me with His spirit. During those early days, I experienced His presence in a profound and life-changing way.

I remember many nights lying in bed, feeling euphoric! Filled to the brim! Enveloped in His presence.

I remember telling Him several times that He had to back-off. I felt I was going to break into a thousand pieces from being too close to Him, too awash in His love.

I felt like Moses when he was up on the mountain, and asked God to reveal Himself to him:

“Please show me Your glory!”

Remember what God said to him?

“I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, (but) you cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”

Exodus 33: 13-20

The Churches in Iraq called out to their brothers and sisters in the west for aid. Western church relief was the main source of assistance, as aid from the UN or Iraqi government often did not make it to the Christians.

“No One”

Verse twenty is the key here: “No one can see Me and live”!

While encased in earthly flesh, we can only handle a shadow of the presence of God. The time is coming, though, when we will see Him in all His glory:

“In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

This was my experience.

When I saw Him dimly (a shadow of His real self), I was overwhelmed and thought I would break into a thousand pieces. His heavenly voltage was too much, and I felt that I couldn’t handle more of His presence.

Persecuted/Martyr Experience

Experiencing God’s presence is both exhilarating and life-giving.

In the foreword to The Last Words of the Martyrs, Francis Chan tells the story of a group of Christians who were captured and held by the Taliban for months.

Think about what they went through: living in intense deprivation, isolation, and terror, knowing that some, or all, of them would die.

That kind of experience is enough to bring almost anyone to the brink of insanity. But do you know what they said about their times as captives of the Taliban? Here’s a passage from The Last Words of the Martyrs:

“When the other captives were released, they went back to Seoul. As they gathered together, they spoke of how they longed for the time that they were imprisoned together and about to be killed.

Why?

Because when they were captive and on ‘death row,’ they really felt the presence of Jesus in prison with them. Back in the safety of Seoul though, they struggled to have that intimacy with Jesus. Now, how great must Jesus be, if you would long to be in prison, on the verge of being murdered, just so that you could be close to Him?”

They lived in unity and thrived off of the presence of God. During this period of extreme anguish and anxiety, these Christians felt genuinely alive and longed for the experience again as terrible as it was.

From Death Comes Life

I’ve heard many stories from victims of persecution, stories that sound much like what those Korean Taliban captives went through.

Pain, isolation, and fear drive the persecuted to mine the depths of their souls. When they naturally come up empty, they must move beyond themselves to find another source of life.

In these periods of desperation, they discover the richest of ore. This ore, the most precious on earth, only runs through the deep, deep bedrock of our being.

The world does not know about the existence of this ore. It cannot make sense of the martyrs or the persecuted, for “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV)

These believers entered into the tabernacle of the Holy of Holies with a closeness and dependence on God that they had never experienced before.

They found LIFE!

I want you to dwell on this truth and hunger for it.

Though the stories of the martyrs by nature involve terrible death, the stories are, in essence, all about life – true life!

In the midst of our hurried, frazzled Western lives, we desperately need the precious ore that these martyrs have mined at such a great cost.

That is the reason why I admire them so much and love to write about them.

So, let’s journey on to see if we can discover their secrets and together reach the vein of ore they found that brings LIFE!

For Further Reading

“In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 (JKV)

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.’

The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’

Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’

And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.

Then the Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’”

Exodus 33: 12-23 (NIV)

“And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’

The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”

1 Kings 19:9-13 (NIV)

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”

John 11:25-26 (NIV)

“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Romans 5:9-11 (NIV)

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalm 23:1-6 (ESV)

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)

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