What Will Your Treasures Cost You?

I thought I was reading a happy ending to a story. The CNN headline from Monday, June 23, 2014 reads:

“Christian woman freed after death sentence ruled 'faulty' in Sudan”

It turns out that I was wrong

A Sudanese woman was sentenced to death by hanging for apostasy, converting from Islam to Christianity. Even though she was raised by her mother, a Christian, because her father is Muslim, her marriage to a Christian man from the US was illegal.

She was given the chance to renounce her faith She refused to do it. The article showcases her commitment to Christ this way:

"I am a Christian," Meriam Yehya Ibrahim told the judge at her sentencing hearing in May, "and I will remain a Christian."

She gave birth to a baby girl in prison. Her 20 month old son was also with her. She was given two years to nurse the baby before the sentence was to be carried out. Along with hanging, the sentence included 100 lashes for adultery.

Thanks to international outcry, including appeals for her freedom on social media and pressure from the US, United Kingdom and Canadian governments an appeals court overturned the conviction. Meriam Yehya Ibrahim was freed and reunited with her husband on Monday.

I have been following this story since it broke in May and I actually shouted “Yes!” when I read that she was released.

Before she could leave Sudan with her husband and children, however, Ibrahim was rearrested at the airport, CNN reported Tuesday. Her original accuser, a man who claims to be her brother is adamant that  the rights and honor of his family were violated upon her release. He makes his feelings known in a CNN article, published Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

"This is now an issue of honor. The Christians have tarnished our honor, and we will know how to avenge it."

The whole heart wrenching saga got me wondering about the strength of my commitment to Jesus Christ.

Would I be willing to follow Jesus, even if it meant death?

Canada is a free country. I am free to profess Jesus as my Savior and fellowship with other believers. The Bible is a legal, readily available book. Churches are free to evangelize in the community. Sadly, our country is in the minority when it comes to religious freedom

Christians all over the world face imprisonment and death for their faith. As much as I hope and pray for continued freedom, I wonder if I will ever have to take a life or death stand for Jesus.  

When I was taking a history class in university, my professor told the class that he believed the atonement for sin Christians attribute to Jesus' crucifixion is a myth. He was basically saying that Jesus died like any other man, he has no power over sin and death. A few minutes later, he asked if anyone believed in absolute truth. Without thinking, I raised my hand. He asked me where he could find absolute truth.

I froze. My tongue wouldn’t move for what felt like five minutes, but was more likely 30 seconds. When I could speak again, I stammered, “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

The professor triumphantly continued his lecture. I spent the rest of the class wondering how I could be such a coward. I’d had the chance to speak the truth about who Jesus reveals Himself to be in the Bible and under the threat of a rebuttal  from this professor, I shrank back in fear. I remember closing my eyes to keep the tears at bay. Even though I hadn’t dishonored Jesus, I felt as if I had outright denied Him by omission.

I faced ridicule in that moment. This Sudanese wife and mother faces death, and yet she will not deny Christ.

When Jesus sent out the disciples in Mathew chapter 10 he told them how adamantly he desired their eternal allegiance.

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." 

(Mathew 10:32-33, NKJV)

Jesus asks us to give ourselves to him because he loves us and wants our hearts for all eternity. He makes this clear throughout His ministry. A passage from the Sermon on the Mount comes to mind.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

(Matthew 6:19-21, NKJV)

The persecution of the Church is a difficult issue for me to tackle. I could have written this from the human rights angle, but that would only tell part of the story. Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, and other persecuted Christians can be strong in the face of death because they know who they are dying for. We are all called to “offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1) The persecuted men woman and children in the global body of Christ live this calling every day, even unto death. I hope and pray that they will be able to keep their hearts and minds on Jesus. It is in him that they have put their trust. He has prepared an eternal reward for them in Heaven, just as He has done for all the children of God.