Message:

“If a man hasn’t found something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”That is a powerful quote from Martin Luther King and recognises that it is sometimes necessary to be prepared to suffer for those things which are truly important in life. In his letter to the early church Peter acknowledges that the earliest Christians needed to be prepared to suffer for their faith in Jesus and their decision to continue to follow his way in a hostile world.

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

“Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering”. Well, I don’t know about you but I don’t honestly feel that I have ever suffered for my faith. Maybe a bit of ridicule at times, perhaps puzzlement but more often indifference – but certainly not suffering.  

I honestly don’t know how I would respond if my commitment to follow the way of Jesus was really put to the test – if it had real consequences. Two examples, one famous one not:

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, ecumenist, and peace activist. Rather than remain silent like so many others he chose to challenge and resist Hitler and the rise of the Nazis believing that true discipleship involved following Christ and conforming to his teachings, even in the face of opposition and persecution. He wrote a book called "The Cost of Discipleship" in which he explored the meaning and importance of costly grace, which he defined as the true grace of God which demands obedience, sacrifice, and a genuine transformation of the believer's life. On April 9th, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was marched, naked, to the gallows at Flössenburg Concentration Camp and hanged. He was 39 years old. The camp was liberated a few weeks later.
• The second example is from the recollections of a Christian who attended a service in a small town in India. During the service he noticed a small old suitcase propped against the church wall. Afterwards he was talking to the minister who, pointing to a young woman, explained that she had chosen to follow Jesus but her family vehemently objected. They had told her that if she went to the service that day she would never ever be welcome at home again – “so she brought her case” said the minister. Such a small sentence for such a huge sacrifice “so she brought her case”!

I am not confident that I would be prepared to pay the price of “costly grace” if I knew it would lead to the gallows. If the cost of following Jesus was a willingness to pack a few things in a small suitcase and leave everything else behind then I am not sure I would be prepared to pay the price…….would you?

StF 662: Have you heard God’s voice?