Command 10 : Love Your Enemies | Day 68

Be More Powerful Than Enemies!

A well-known pastor in Romania looked out his front window as a military car drove up. Armed officers jumped out and rushed toward his front door. He was expecting them. They arrested him and took him to the police station. There they began their interrogation of Dr. Josef Tson.

They demanded, in harsh and angry voices, that he retract the paper he had written about Christianity, and they threatened to kill him if he refused to comply with their demands. He just looked at them with a great big smile. They asked, "Why are you smiling when we tell you we are going to kill you?"

He explained, "Your supreme weapon is to kill me, but my supreme weapon is to die for my faith! You see, my sermons are all over Romania. If I die, I will sprinkle each tape's message with my blood, and people will listen to them with new dedication. I will conquer Romania with my death, and I will also go to glory." His enemies realized the truth of his words and declared, "We will not let you be a martyr!"

The most powerful people on the face of the earth are those who have no fear of death.

Fear of death can have a crippling effect on our minds, wills, and emotions. It diminishes our potential for success. Jesus died to conquer this fear: "... That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Paul applied this powerful truth when he wrote that he was "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (II Corinthians 4:10-12).

The great paradox of the Christian life is that we are never more alive than when we "die" in surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ.

There must come a time when we totally surrender our lives to the Lord. This is the basis of genuine love and power for living. (See John 15:13.) My point of unconditional surrender took place one afternoon when I was a teenager. I was reading Foxe's Book of Martyrs and was deeply challenged by the example of these Christians who had endured terrible deaths for their faith. I bowed my head and said, "Lord, I will live for you and die for you!"

A marvelous thing happened. No longer was I concerned about how much pleasure I could get out of life. Rather, I was concerned about how much I could accomplish for the Lord before I died. Life became an exciting race against time. This commitment has given me meaning and purpose for each day, with no fear of death. If you have not already done so, I urge you to join me today in this exciting race by unconditionally surrendering your life to the Lord.