There Are People Who Sacrificially Preached The Message That We Now Freely Received
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Acts 12: 1-2, NIV
The early Christians experienced great persecution in the past. After Stephen’s death, Acts 12 recorded how James, one of Jesus’ disciples died. King Herod put him to death with a sword. This must’ve been difficult for the remaining disciples. Imagine one of your friends, whom you spent most of your days with, died for the gospel that you also preached. By this time around, James faithfully ended his life with Jesus in his heart. It was a painful death but a victorious life.
Because of this verse, I realized that there are people who sacrificially preached the message that we now freely received. Jesus and many more followers died for the sake of the gospel so that we will receive hope and freedom. They sacrificed everything they had for us to live a purposeful life. This made me think we are so blessed because most of us never really experienced great persecution.
Aside from this, I also learned that hope is sometimes birthed from painful sacrifices. We enjoyed the favor of being called as a child of God because of what Jesus did on the cross. We received the gospel and heard the good news about Jesus because there are people who sacrificially spread the message about Him. What we receive right now is so precious and priceless.
That’s why, let’s use the opportunity that we have to bring justice to those who sacrificed for the hope that we received. Let’s continue to share the love of Jesus and His good news to the ends of the earth. Let’s not waste the lives of the martyrs. May we also learn to offer our lives to glorify the name of Jesus.
Prayer: Loving Father, thank you for giving us the chance to encounter your love. Thank you for the opportunity to hear the good news through the lives of those people who willingly sacrificed for us. We pray that you will give us a humble heart to serve and love others. May we never waste the sacrifice that Jesus offered for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.
