To die for...

Hello there and welcome back to the rambling thoughts of a short man who really enjoys reading and learning...

I truly pray that this journey through "How Good..." has been a time of growth for you as well.

This chapter highlights something that I have repeated for years. The first time I heard this topic spoke about was at a conference where Josh McDowell was speaking at.

Josh shared his journey to faith through his attempt to dismantle the faith of his friends on the campus of the college he was attending. His goal was to show them, through well organized investigation, that Jesus wasn't the Son of God and that Christianity was not true.

One of the items that impressed him was the point Andy makes in one of the paragraphs from this chapter. "Not only did his followers continue to believe in him (in spite of his death) and spread his teachings, they were all eventually arrested and put to death themselves. No one will knowingly die for a lie. And don't make the mistake of lumping the disciples of Christ in with all the fine individuals who have given their life through the ages. The followers of Jesus did not die for what the believed - they died for what they claim to have seen."

NOT FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVED BUT WHAT THEY HAD SEEN! "A dead man walking."

It's hard to set aside the evidence they had. No one else had told them about Jesus' resurrection, they SAW IT! And they DIED for it!

Andy continues, "Hundreds of thousands of men and women have died for a belief system. Communism, capitalism, Islam, freedom - the list goes on and on. But the first-century followers of Jesus died because they claimed that he came back to life. The resurrection of Jesus was the centerpiece of their message."

You see, as Josh said that day, "no one dies for a lie." Andy concurs. You may say, "but those people mentioned in the previous quote died for a lie!" No they didn't! Even though you and I see some of those causes as lies, Josh made a point Andy leaves off the pages of this book, "THEY BELIEVED THEY (their belief in communism, etc.) WERE THE TRUTH!"

So, let me ask you, why do you "believe" in Jesus? Did you ever realize that your faith isn't in a "belief system" but a man? And not just any man, but a man who claimed to be God, despite the offense it created. A man who inspired his followers at a level that they were willing to die for that confession of faith. Not for what they believed, but what they have seen...

What are your thoughts?

Comment away!