ON THE VANGUARD

FAN THE FIRE
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
Hebrews 10:39

Recent news events move us from the remote jungles of Ecuador to the city of Islamabad, Pakistan. Only yesterday, March 2, 2011, was it reported that self-described Taliban gunman assassinated the nation’s minorities minister. Shahbaz Bhatti, who months before began getting death threats in relation to his religion, was shot a total of eight times, being pronounced dead on arrival when his driver, who was also shot, pulled up at the hospital. Bhatti was the only Christian in Pakistan’s cabinet. Following a prompting, he made a video four months prior that fully described his stance for God. In it he spoke, “…I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ, who has given His own life for us. I know what is the meaning of the cross, and I am a follower of the cross. And I am ready to die for this cause…” Despite the threats, however, Bhatti did not back down nor cease to speak for marginalized Christians and other minorities. As this belief clearly went against the Islamic dominance of the country, the Taliban took matters into their own hands.
We have grown up hearing the stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and of Daniel, and of David, but have we truly grasped the allegiance behind the stories. For the three Hebrew boys, their allegiance was to God alone, as they with purpose would not bow down to a pagan idol, even with their life on the line. They knew that the enemy was after them, to tear them from the positions of authority God had allowed them to be placed in. But even when the king gave them one final chance to change their minds, they stood true in the pledge to God.
What about Daniel? He cared nothing for the rules to pray only to the king, but rather because of his allegiance to God, he continued to pray. He also knew the death threats of his time, but did not back down. Lions could not steal from him his allegiance, nor could their growls surrender the pledge he had made to follow after God.
And let us think about David. Before he was made king he first conquered the giant that stood in opposition of the army of God. He cried out, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who defies God.” To ask that bold a question of one who towers over you takes either stupid pills, or an allegiance to God who has proven Himself time and time again. For David, it was allegiance, and this is the God I serve.
How dare we sit comfortable in our lazy boy watching television when our brothers and sisters of the faith are being killed for the same allegiance we take for granted. How audacious our thoughts to think that because it does not happen in America we are safe. The truth is we are all in danger of this same fate. An angry neighbor of a different faith, a spiritual jihad acted out against us, another September 11, and life as we know it can change in a moment and find us standing against a firing squad for our beliefs. So then now, before that moment happens, I urge you to question of yourself, are these just stories or a passion that lives in you? When the time comes, will you give in to the death threats or will you stand up in allegiance to God Almighty?
One of my favorite historical martyrs is Joan of Arc. Some called her crazy because she said that voices spoke to her, giving her instruction. Obeying the voices she would describe as past saints, Joan led the Dauphin of France’s army in a series of victories, which in turn changed the course of the Hundred Years’ War. Although this action made her a saint to some, it also made her a rebellious heretic to others. But Joan of Arc never backed down in her allegiance to God and doing as He had called her to. At the age of 19, however, she was burned alive at the stake for heresy. To her, these stories were something more. They were a relationship built on devotion. And her model, her passion, her allegiance, fans my flame, as does the recent death of Shahbaz Bhatti. May this fire burn so hot in us that it will be said of us also that we did not shrink back in the face of death.