A Gospel Worth Living For

At the third Lausanne conference at Cape Town, a church leader from Jos, Nigeria gave a moving testimony.  You may recall that it was near Jos that Muslims slaughtered hundreds of Christians earlier this year. 

He says, “Those who carry the message of the Gospel will not always be welcomed.  There may be intimidation, humiliation, persecution, and suffering.”  He tells of how churches and houses have been burned, how he has lost a classmate and colleagues.  He describes the suffering when Muslims massacred men, women, and children in his country.  He personally faced persecution when over 40 people came to his house to kill him.  Because he was not home at the time, the attackers found his wife and did “unspeakable things to her.” 

His persecutors did not give up on silencing him.  He continues,

Exactly one year later they came back again, but this time they met me at home. Over thirty people came, broke down…the back door, came in, and took me out to kill me.  They later on changed their minds and said they would kill me in my bedroom.  I pleaded with them to [let me] pray. 

And they allowed me to pray.  As I prostrated before the Lord, about two minutes later my wife was holding my hands.  Five minutes later my son came in.  And I said, "What are you doing here?"  He said, "Daddy, they’re gone."  What chased them away, what they saw, what they didn’t see, only eternity will reveal….

Why I am alive, I don’t know.  But one thing I know, until my time is up …. I have a Gospel to proclaim, I have a Gospel worth living for, and I have a Gospel worth dying for.  Amen. 

Persecution does not mean defeat, even if worldly wisdom suggests that it does.  Why is this Gospel worth living for, even in the face of persecution?  Paul writes to the Corinthians,

Why are we in danger every hour? … I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” … But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:30-32, 57-58)

If you want to see the video testimony, click here: http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11459