This month, our meditation has been excerpted from the book entitled Extreme Devotion, compiled by Voice Of the Martyrs. In the following passage, the account of a Russian Christians and a Russian unbeliever provides us with fodder for reflection and perhaps application:
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Nikolai Khamara was arrested for robbery and imprisoned for ten years. Khamara watched the Christians and wondered what kind of beings they were. They were men, but they would show joy despite their suffering and would sing in very dark hours. When they had a piece of bread, they shared it with someone who had none. Their faces would shine as they spoke to someone whom Khamara could not see.
One day, two Christians sat down with Nikolai and asked him about his story. Khamara told them his sad tale and finished by saying, "I am a lost man."
One of the Christians, with a smile, asked Khamara, "If someone loses a gold ring, what is the value of that gold ring when it is lost?"
"What a foolish question! A gold ring is a gold ring. You have lost it, but somebody else will have it."
"A very good answer," said the Christian. "Now tell me, what is the value of a lost man? A lost man, even a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer, has the whole value of a man. He is of such value that the Son of God forsook heaven for him and died on the cross to save him."
The Christian said to the robber, "You may have been lost, but God's love can find you." Hearing this, Khamara gave his life to Christ.
FURTHER: How is value measured? Usually, by a person's investment of time, money, or emotion. That is, how a person treats a possession, an activity, or even a relationship reveals how much it is valued by that person. Consider, for example, the difference in the treatment of old work clothes and a new suit. Or the contrast between the care for a paper cup and a crystal goblet. And when a valued possession is lost or a loved one injured, oh the tears that are shed. So, how valued are people...are you? As the Christian told Khamara, so valuable that Jesus left heaven and died on a cross for His lost and rebellious creatures. God loves them that much. You are loved; you are valuable. Rejoice and spread this Good News to the other "loved ones" near you.
A moment of consideration: In these days in which we live, our image as Christians varies and changes. Some see us Christians as dour-faced, snobbish, judgmental, uncaring, opinionated, irrational, constantly talking about death and doom, and on, and on. Another, as in the account of the Christian and an unbelieving prisoner in Russia, above, spent time watching and observing Christians around him. His analysis beheld Christians as being humans who show joy despite their suffering and will sing in very dark hours, will share a piece of their own bread/food with someone who has none, and have faces that shine as they speak with God unseen. The question for us is, "what kind of beings [humans] are we?" Do we actually show joy to others despite our suffering, our grief, our insecurities? Do we exhibit the qualities and characteristics observed by this Russian prisoner?
In the midst of suffering, enduring pain, or being overcome with grief until great sobs of tears come forth, do we consider the suffering to be a joy which helps us develop endurance, or do we abide by human nature, and "tough it out"? James 1:2-4 suggests we look to God's Word and abide by our Father's wishes; we are to consider our trials in the following fashion: not only in terms of temptations to sin, but also of any trials or troubles which test and purify our Christian character. Every trial to us as children of God is a strategic masterpiece on the part of our Savior, for our good. Consider these trials as things to rejoice in; matters which should make us happy. Don't consider them as a punishment, curse, or calamity, but as a reasonable deference or homage to God.
We don't just rejoice in times of prosperity, and of health. Rather, in the apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he went on to show that this plan is also adapted to bring support during trials. In other words, we don't just rejoice in hope; we don't only rely on justification and its direct results, or in the immediate effect which religion itself produces; but we carry our joy and triumph even into the middle of trials. To this end, the apostle Paul further suggests in the book of Romans that suffering (our adversities, emotional miseries, anguish, harm, hurt, and losses) brings with it perseverance, character and hope--each a characteristic of our Savior, and offered to us. (Romans 5:3-5) May we show a joyful countenance to others we meet, and may our faces shine as we encounter and abide in Christ.
How many times in our walk through troubles and testing, have we thought about what Christ means to us? What does our faith mean to us? To what extent is our faith reflected in our speech and behavior? In some restricted countries, Christians have a cross tattooed on the back of their hand--as silent testimony of their ownership by Christ. This is a dangerous tattoo in those countries. When we wear a golden cross on an ornate chain around our necks, do we likewise wear this as a witness of Christ's Lordship, to those we meet? Christ has purchased us through His sacrifice and resurrection; we are His. Our lives, our clothing, our speech, our actions are displayed as a witness to Christ for others to see.
A golden cross on a golden necklace depicts a sadistic and brutal method of execution employed by the ancient Romans, and used even today by some terrorists. But will our audience understand that? Some people respond better to being shown Christ in our actions and speech. Keep in mind, also, the counsel of Saint Peter: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves." (1 Peter 3:4-5)
Our lives are an open book for others to read. In our interactions with others, our presentation should promote Christ, or at least not turn others away from Him and His love. May the message we convey be a coherent and cohesive message of redemption and hope through Christ. In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter tells us to "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect." We are urged to be ready to promote Christ.
We sanctify God before others, when our conduct invites and encourages them to glorify and honor him. 1 Peter 3:15 does not impose an obligation to bring forward a theological or logical proof/defense of Christianity. But as we believers deny ourselves, crucify the world, and brave persecution, we need to be buoyed up by a strong and "blessed hope"; people of the world, having no such hope themselves, will be apt to be moved by curiosity to ask the secret of this hope. We need to be ready to give an account of "how this hope arose in us, what it contains, and upon Whom it rests" [Steiger]. The oldest manuscripts also read, "but with." Be ready, but with "meekness," not flippantly or arrogantly (1 Peter 3:4).
Again, the question confronts us Christians, "What kind of beings are we?" Let us be caring, sincere, congenial, knowledgeable of God’s Word, loving, meek and joyful. May we not be, as Don Quixote described himself as, a "Knight of the Woeful Countenance." May we instead be joyful in our countenance and welcoming in our demeanor. As ambassadors of our Lord, let us show the image of the Way, the Truth, and the Life to all we meet.