Live As Immoveable
"I have written to you briefly, exhorting and declaring that this IS the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"
—1 Peter 5:12
A bad day for me is when my 2nd vehicle is scratched in the parking lot as I follow my grandson through 18 holes of state golf tournament competition. I've got to be blunt, I have no idea how to read 1 Peter with my middle-America paradigm and even begin to comprehend the meaning of the "suffering" as Peter highlights it 17 times in his letter to the "Alien Nation" of his day. But my brothers and sisters in the faith around the world DO know of what he speaks. Take this week's shocking example:
A Sudanese woman sentenced to death while she was pregnant for marrying a Christian man and converting to Christianity as a child was forced to give birth in shackles, according to her husband. "They kept a chain on her legs. She is very unhappy about that," said Wani.
After the birth of the Christian couple's beautiful daughter, who they named Maya on Tuesday morning, Wani said local authorities initially refused to allow him to see his daughter, but they eventually allowed him in the prison and momentarily released his wife from her chains so they could have a moment with the child together.
The moment, however, is a bittersweet one for the parents, particularly Meriam who will not be able to watch her child grow up if the death sentenced meted out to her for believing in Jesus is carried out. The local courts have given her a two-year grace period to wean baby Maya before she is lashed 100 times then executed for her apostasy. Meriam has been given the opportunity to stay alive through renouncing Christ and becoming a Muslim by an Islamic Sharia Judge but she has defiantly rejected the offer choosing to die instead.
"If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I'm not going to change my faith," she said. "I refuse to change. I am not giving up Christianity just so that I can live. I know I could stay alive by becoming a Muslim and I would be able to look after our family, but I need to be true to myself."
Daniel praised his wife's resolve saying she didn't even "flinch" when she was sentenced to death. "My wife is very, very strong. She is stronger than me. When they sentenced her to death I broke down and tears were streaming down my eyes. Our lawyers were passing me tissues. But she stayed strong. She did not flinch when she was sentenced. It was amazing to see, particularly because she is the one facing the death penalty."
How timely Peter's exhortation is: "Resist him (your adversary), firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."
Church, stand firm! And while you are waging your own battle with the Adversary over such insignificant "trials" as a scratch on your 2nd vehicle, be praying for our sister in the Sudan, that grace will be sufficient for every trial and that Divine mercy might triumph over judicial decrees.