Unshakeable Faith// Emily Otts
The prologue of Silence begins by explaining the persecution that the Christians in Japan are experiencing. It details some of the forms of torture used to apostatize the Christians, only wanting them to denounce their faith, but not kill them. In order to still torture them without killing them, the Japanese got creative, such as slowly pouring boiling water on them. They experienced slow, cruel torture, with no clear end in sight unless they denounced their faith.
I can only admire these Christians for clinging to their faith in the midst of such agony. They truly believed death was better than rejecting Christ. They knew that a better treasure awaited them on the other side and that God would reward them for it. This made me question, do I actually have that strong of a faith?
I believe this is a question most Christians in America need to actually consider. God has allowed us to be in a country where we do not have to fear for our lives daily because of our faith. Because of that, I believe that many of us are just comfortable in our faith, possibly even lukewarm. But how many of us would actually hold to our faith if we are being threatened because of it? I believe that number would be much fewer. As scary as that sort of circumstance may be, I believe that we as Christians should strive to have a faith that will allow us to hold firm to Christ when faced with death. I can only hope my faith can be as strong as the faith of these missionaries.
I commented on Emma Landry and Braylan Stringfellow's posts.
Love your post! I think you're right. I think our privilege and our freedom often can act as something with weakens our faith. Those Christians who clung to their faith in Japan are more dependent on God and more trusting in Him than I have ever been and it is truly admirable. It is humbling. I have the freedom to be bold with my faith yet fail to take advantage of it.
ReplyDeleteI think faith like this is beautiful, even if I myself doubt it. Even in spite of my doubt I truly believe it is beautiful because it perfectly displays pure human conviction. All of those Christians have given their lives up for what they believe regardless of what others said or tried to make them think. They held strong even when they breathed their last. -Alex Bryant
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