We have witnessed many Christians being persecuted recently for their faith in Christ. Recently 21 Christians were martyred by Islamic extremists. It reminded me of the price some must pay for their faith. It also encouraged me to stand for truth, morality and my Savior Jesus Christ. When one person stands for Jesus, it is an encouragement for others to stand.
This all reminded me of a story and a song of a few years ago. It was called ’40 Martyrs for Christ.’ I’d like to share that story with you…
There were once forty soldiers, all Christians who were members of the famed 12th Legion of Rome’s imperial army. One day their captain told them Emperor Licinius had sent out an edict that all soldiers were to offer sacrifice to pagan gods. The Christians replied, “You can have our armor and even our bodies, but our hearts’ allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ.”
It was midwinter of AD 321, and the captain had them marched onto a nearby frozen lake. He stripped them of their clothes and said they would either die or renounce Christ. Throughout the night these men huddled together singing their song, ‘Forty Martyrs for Christ.’ One by one the temperatures took its toll and they fell to the ice.
At last there was only one man left. He lost courage and stumbled to shore, where he renounced Christ. The officer of the guards had been watching all this. Unknown to the others, he had secretly come to believe in Christ. When he saw this las man break rank, he walked out onto the ice, threw off his clothes, and confessed that he also was a Christian. When the sun rose the next morning, there were forty bodies of soldiers who had fought to the death for Christ.
If you willingly stand for Christ, even when threatened with death, you can be assured that one day you will live and reign with Him.