Imagine a scene in your typical church on baptism Sunday. Several people are going to be baptized. They get up, go down into the baptistry, the pastor asks them several questions so they can publicly confess their conversion, they are imersed, everyone claps, we sing, everyone goes home.
Now, imagine the same situation except in a land where it is illegal to be a Christian. Instead of a pastor, a young girl is being baptized by her dad in a swimming pool. As she prepares to be baptized, he asks her several questions:
Do you believe in Jesus?
Has He forgiven your sins?
Do you promise to walk with Him always?
When they come into our house and take us away, when they beat us and try to get us to deny Him, will you still follow Jesus?
–Exerpt from http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21325
Did you catch that last question?! "When they come into our house and take us away, when they beat us and try to get us to deny Him, will you still follow Jesus?" Christian, are we prepared to give up all that we have–including our lives–for the cause of Christ? That would never happen you say. True…it may not happen here in America that way…yet. However, this isn't really about dying for Jesus. It is about LIVING for Jesus. What is the state of our heart? Are we really committed to following Jesus? When we sing the invitation hymn that goes "…I have decided to follow Jesus… Though none go with me still I will follow. No turning back…" do we really mean it? Or is it simply a song that we sing for invitation? Do we mean those words? Or are we singing a song?