05.14.07
What’s the source of our strength?
This morning I was flipping through a Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) newsletter. Boy, some of the stories in there really have me in awe as to how much strength and determination some people have to stand up for what they believe in. For anyone who isn’t familiar with VOM, they are a non-profit organization who focuses their work on areas where there are persecuted Christian churches. As an example, this particular newsletter features an article titled, “The Hidden World of the Malay Christian.” As a hint to what the article is about, here’s the first paragraph:
“A tourist to Malaysia can walk into church on Sunday morning for worship, but a Malay cannot. Over half of the 5 million population are darker-skinned Malays (not Chinese or Indian) who are forbidden to go into a church because they are required to stay Muslim.”
Stories like these really humble me because like my previous post where I mentioned people starving to death, yet I had never even gone one day without food, I have also never experienced being prohibited to enter a church. Sure I’ve had my faith challenged and my beliefs questioned, but never to the point I was denied my right to believe what I do. It’s hard to imagine wanting to go to some church to listen, but being told that I was not allowed and that it was actually against the law. This makes me realize that although people in general share the same feelings–i.e. joy, sadness, fear, etc., some people are placed in extreme circumstances which seem to tease out those who have more strength and determination to do what is right. And I wonder how some people come to be like that. Why is one person able to stand firm with his beliefs, while another would shrink back and hide his true beliefs? And so it’s with that spirit that I like to read the stories of those who have endured incredible or unusual circumstances and remained faithful to God. The strength of these people who have suffered thousands of miles away, and don’t even know me, have actually inspired me and taught me things I would not have known since I have not been subjected to their circumstances. Theirs is an experience I could not have dreamed of without their sharing it. One example that struck me was the perspective of one Christian who as imprisoned for 3 years. This was actually not from the Malay story, but from a writeup to a book called, “Alone with God,” by Richard Wurmbrand. This is what was written:
“Should I Pray to be Free?
Composed in a cell in solitary confinement, 30 feet underground:
My God,
I know how to say ‘Our Father,’ but do not know what to add. Should I ask you for freedom? If so, why?. . .
It is not necessary to go to holy places in order to be pleasing to You. But neither is it necessary to be at liberty. Which commandment could I keep better in freedom than in a prison cell? Why should I move around? The lily stays in the same place and exhales its perfume.
What does it matter that I am alone? I had this problem when I was a pastor of the church. I had inherited from my predecessor a church with small attendance. In the beginning I was sad about it. But then I quieted my heart and told the brethren, ‘Instead of worrying about those who are absent, let each of us multiply his zeal and fervor and love. It is for these that God looks out. If He finds one man with as much love as only a hundred men would normally have, He is satisfied.’
In my solitary cell, I am undisturbed. I can work on my character to develop the virtue of thousands.
I will not pray to be free. . . ”
Wow, I read that to Brian and asked him what he thought. He said, “I’d ask to be free.” LOLOL He said, the reason he would ask to be free is because he had lots to do! LOLOLOL Does sound like a valid reason, ha! Well, I suppose I’d ask to be free, too! Maybe I should buy Wurmbrand’s book and find out why he was put in prison in the first place. This is what I mean about learning from the lives and experiences of others. From their eyes, I am able to learn more about life and how others experience it. It’s especially helpful since some people go through experiences (like prison and religious persecution) that others may never have. Why do people make the choices they do? Maybe one of the things that draws me to reading other people’s stories is my curiosity of what makes them tick. Some people seem so clever and make interesting choices. Yet, with all our similarities, we are all also quite different, but yet the same! Groups of people have been known to act in a “herd” mentality, but even so, a handful will break free and defy the odds. I wonder how that happens when we all “seem” to start out the same–i.e. we are all born into the world naked.
Marlakins
