would you recant?

"If a gun were pointed at your head would you be strong in your faith? What would it take for you to recant? Are you willing to die for Christ?" Last week, questions like these crowd my social media in response to a mass shooting that appears to have targeted Christians. 

I've been asked questions like these since I was young. And of course I would loudly affirm my faith with the other awkward adolescents around our Sunday School table, or raise my hand with the masses of pimple-cheeked teenagers at Christian camps. But my insides would always whimper I don't know.

The Christian Martyrs of Nagasaki
[public domain] via wikipedia

I still don't know. It's never happened. And (let's be honest) there's a high probability it won't happen to me. Of course, I sincerely hope I would act on what I know to be true about God and eternity. That I would face death with my belief strong and steady. That there would be special grace to make the ultimate decision. However, that's not required of my faith today. 

But very much IS. 

You see, I may never be asked if I will deny my faith with the cold metal of a loaded gun pressed to my head, but let me tell you what I am asked:

Skipping one day of Bible reading isn't going to affect you, right?

Has God really given a clear 'no' to this questionable activity?

Why don't you (insert lifestyle choice that dishonors God)? 

Do you really have time to seek God over this? 

Will you choose right even when it feels wrong?

What do you believe about_______?

Will you esteem this fellow believer as better than yourself? 

Won't you linger over that carnal image? 

Will you deny self?

Do you really have to suffer long and be kind towards_______?

What makes you so different?

How can you live without wild parties, drugs, and sex? 

Do you really need to forgive that person?

Are the consequences of choosing this sin really that bad? 

Isn't 'down time' supposed to be 'me time?' 

Don't they deserve the silent treatment? Angry word? Curt response? 

Will God really work this together for good? 

..............................................................

Each question bombards me in some form almost every day. 

Each question demands an answer. 

Each answer will either deny or affirm my faith. 

Reality is, no one just up and dives in front of a firing squad while blurting out I'm Christian so kill me! Faith doesn't come Herculean. It must be built. I am to keep on reckoning myself dead to sin. To hold fast to what I've been taught. I am to daily take up the cross of identity with Christ. To add to my faith. 

We've got to quit thinking in superlatives and exotic possibility. To stop reclining on the stage of daily life while waxing eloquent about the bigger role we think we could master. Today, we'll be required to act out faith in both soliloquy and public address. Whether openly questioned by others, or simply called to believe in unseen things when embraced by the all-too-seen pleasures of sin. In these unexpected moments, my faith will be tried. 

And these moments? They're essential to the plot line. They are the plot line. They're worth an eternal weight of glory. They're more precious than gold that perishes. They make possible a well done thou good and faithful servant from a God who sees each split-second choice. They're necessary to pleasing Him who has called us to be soldiers. 

If we refuse to obey in these small moments, why do we think we'd obey in the big your-life-hangs-in-the-balance ones? But obey in the small-- affirm our faith in the little--and if the big comes, I think it won't appear that big. It will be met with a faith waxed strong through practice. A believer well-exercised towards godliness... 

A confidence in the glistening eternal matured on the worn, wooden stage of the temporal. 

Beth