Shepherd's Pen

Conquest

  There is one subject that almost everyone is concerned about, today. It is terrorism in general, but especially suicide bombers. After 9/11 and more recently the bombings in London, it is a topic about which almost everyone has an opinion. Why do we fear suicide bombers, so much? Because they are almost impossible to stop. There are many people out there who would like to hurt us in some way. However, they are restrained by the fact that there will be consequences of their actions. They may be attacked in retaliation. They could be caught and punished in some way. A suicide bomber has none of these concerns and that makes him very deadly.

   How did the Apostles conquer the world for Jesus Christ in the first century? They did it because they were on a suicide mission. They were not concerned about what would happen to them. There was a chance that they would be persecuted or even killed for what they were trying to do. They did not let that stop them or slow them down in any way. Paul stated the attitude of the Apostles in Romans 14:8:

   "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord."

So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

   And again in Galatians 2:20:

   "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

   And once more in Romans 6:4:

   "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

   They basically died to themselves and started living to God.

   Now I am not trying to equate what the Apostles did to the misguided efforts of suicide bombers. They have nothing in common except a lack of concern for themselves in the actions they are taking. A suicide bomber is about as evil as one gets. He takes his own life and the life of other innocent people to meet his own selfish ends. On the other hand, the Apostles sacrificed their own lives so that others might live their lives to the fullest in accordance with God's laws.

   So then, how do we take Ventura and the rest of the world for Jesus Christ? We have to accept the mission handed over to us by the Apostles. Thankfully, most of us will not be in the position that we may have to risk our lives like the Apostles. But we do have to quit worrying about what other people might think or say. We have to quit worrying about being rejected. We even have to quit worrying that we might fail. We just need to quit worrying, period. John tells us what our attitude must be in John 12:25:

   "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Steve Truman