I heard an older gentleman speak yesterday about his work in foreign countries and how he would share bibles by having them translated into local languages. On the surface this seemed quite wonderful and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When he shared more with us he mentioned a young man who had journeyed a tremendously long way in order to get a bible he could translate for his own people. “Wonderful” was all I could think. My cozy thoughts of joy were shattered by what the older man shared next; this young man was martyred! He went on to say that this man’s wife was going to carry on the work of her husband.
Living in the United States, we don’t even have a concept of what it means to be martyred for faith. We can read anything we want, go to any church we want, get together and listen to who we want. Would we be committed if we knew it was possible someone would kill us for wanting to know more about Jesus?
I keep thinking about our soldiers fighting in other countries where freedom is only a word but not a reality and I pray with more understanding of what my prayers mean.