Faith on the Line

Today I read of a doctor who recently began working with The Voice of the Martyrs. He has struggled with the suffering of the people he now helps. Yet he came to realize that we really need these persecuted Christians because of how strong and deep their faith is, and how readily they forgive. In our country, we do all the things good Christians are supposed to do, and we may even have alot of Bible knowledge, but is our faith all that deep? Many persecuted Christians don't know anything about the tenets of Calvinism or Arminianism. But when someone threatens them on the way home from work and tells them that if they recant, they'll be set free, but if they don't, they will be cruelly tortured or killed, they say, "No, I will not. Jesus is Lord." That's deep. They know what matters, and they are willing to pay the price, and forgive their persecutors. Christianity in the United States is too easy - for now. Are we prepared to suffer and die for our faith? I don't know. Thinking about it really scares me. One thing I do know, though, is that God's grace is stronger than we can imagine. Persecuted Christians know this by experience.