Get Serious
March 19, 2020 – Are we truly living in the last days? Have the seals been broken and the horse and riders been released? These are odd questions. Reading through Revelation during a time of viral pandemic will do that do you. Whether we are or are not living near the very end, or as I would like to phrase it, living near all things being made new, there is a great peace in knowing God. Even as I read about all the martyrs and how many will inevitably join their number, there is peace in knowing God. While no one wants to suffer and die a cruel death, both Paul and Peter and all the believers throughout the book of Acts were filled with joy to be able to share in Christ’s suffering. In our comfortable homes and fairly secure lives we know nothing of that kind of life. I hope my faith is that strong.
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Years ago, I read the account of the martyrdom of Polycarp. He was told to renounce his faith and curse Jesus. Polycarp responded, “Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?” According to eyewitnesses, they tried to burn him at the stake, but the flames couldn’t actually burn him, so in frustration the executioner stabbed him with a dagger.
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For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
-Luke 9:24-25 (ESV)
-Luke 9:24-25 (ESV)
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Polycarp took Jesus’ words seriously and he experienced a closeness to God that enabled him to live faithfully and die joyfully. Son, I spent far too many years in religious activity, being the good Christian. My walk with God was all about me. If I had a good day, awesome! If I had a bad day, I was at rock bottom spiritually and emotionally. I missed what Paul, Peter, and Polycarp all experienced. They lived closely to the heart of God. They knew him as a friend. I get it now. God is so patient and kind. Intimacy with God isn’t the result of doing all the right things. God loves us. We love him. The intimacy that we develop in that simple relationship is what produces a life of real faith.
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“The Martyrdom of Polycarp.” Translated by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885. New Advent, revised and edited by Kevin Knight, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
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