To Live For

“Why would you die for that?” she asked. I was telling our six-year-old how Paul wrote most of the New Testament and how, once he became a Christian he was sold out for Christ, even died preaching the Gospel. “Why would you die for that?” she asked again.

“Why would someone be trying to kill you for that is the better question,” I replied. “Do you remember what happened to John the Baptist?”

“Yeah, they cut his head off and put it on a platter for preaching about Jesus” (Matt. 14:1-12).

“Correct. Now, think about all the prophets and apostles and followers of Christ who died or endangered themselves for preaching the message of the Gospel, for sharing about the Kingdom of God. You want to know why they would die for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and here is the answer, because they lived for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No one is going to die for something that they do not already live for. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important and valuable message in the history of mankind, it is a threat to the enemy and his kingdom. Persecution and death are par for the course for those who preach God’s message.”

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Why does the enemy attack those who serve Almighty God? Because Satan cannot stop God's love for us. The enemy cannot separate us from the love of God, but he can try. The closer we get to the LORD, the more devoted we become, the more we try to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the more Satan will attack. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, he wants to sift us like wheat (Luke 22:31, John 10:10). God has plans for mankind, plans that we have yet to even discover and Satan cannot stand it. We were made in God's own image and the devil is jealous (Genesis 1:27). He and his minions will never stop opposing believers because the power and authority that we have through Jesus Christ makes us a threat (Luke 10:19).

Are you a threat to Satan? Does the enemy oppose you? Does Satan set out to end your life because you spend your life sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others? When you know the truth of Jesus Christ it is something that you want everyone else to know. When you know the truth of Jesus Christ it is something that no one can separate you from, no matter the amount of trouble they bring your way. When you know the truth of Jesus Christ it is something that you live for and it is something that you would gladly die for.

“Did you know there are Christians in the world today that are persecuted and die for the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” I asked my daughter.

“Aww... really?” she answered sadly.

“Yeah, really. But why do you say, ‘Aww’? Why is it sad to hear someone died for the cause of Christ? That's like when people react sadly to Jesus dying on the cross. That's not sad, that's happy! Thank God Jesus died because now He lives! And because He lives, we live! Every man, woman, boy and girl who suffered, was persecuted and died for the cause of Christ, lives!!! They live and those of us on this side of life who suffer their physical loss, indeed we grieve and mourn but not like the world (1 Thess. 4:13). We honor them, and we celebrate them, and we strive to be like them. We strive to be like the people throughout the centuries who have lived for Christ and were ready and willing to die without hesitation for the Gospel.”

Would you die for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Better yet, would you live for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Take a look over your life. Are you living for God? The trials will come, the devil and his minions do not take breaks. Do you have the strength, through the Word of God to withstand the wiles of the devil or will you give in when it gets too tough (Ephesians 6:11-13)? As the Body of Christ, we need not fear those who can kill the body but not the soul (Matthew 10:28). As the Body of Christ, we need to be prepared to be hated, persecuted, even killed for the faith. More than anything else we do as the Body of Christ, we need to show the world that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something to live for (Matthew 5:11-12).