This is a long Tuesday Toss-up, but stay with me on this ...
This past Sunday, our College Intern at church delivered the message. It was entitled, simply, "STAND." I was moved by his message, and immediately, began thinking about my Tuesday Toss-up. He based his message on an event that occurred back on April 20, 1999, in Columbine, Colorado. I'm pretty sure we all know the story...
Two teenagers carried out a shooting rampage, killing 12, wounding 24, before committing suicide in Columbine High School. Inspired by this tragedy, Michael W. Smith wrote the song This Is Your Time. Here are some of the words to this song:
"It was a test we could all hope to pass, but none of us would want to take. Faced with the choice to deny God to live, for her, there was one choice to make. This was her time. This was her dance. She lived every moment; left nothing to chance. She swam in the sea; drank of the deep; embraced the mystery of all she could be. This was her time...
What if tomorrow, and what if today, faced with the question, oh what would you say?
This is your time. This is your dance. Live every moment, leave nothing to chance. Swim in the sea. Drink of the deep. Follow the mercy and hear yourself praying. Won't you save me? Won't you save me?"
Not only did Michael write this song in honor of the tragedy at Columbine High School, but in honor of Cassie Bernall, too. Cassie was a remarkable young girl. She was troubled, involved in drugs, alcohol, witchcraft, and wanted to kill her parents. Her parents immediately pulled her out of public school, enrolled her in a Christian school, and only allowed her to leave the house to attend youth meetings. On one occassion, she asked her parents to allow her to go to a youth retreat. They, feeling that she was being closely watched by the youth ministry team, allowed her to go. On this weekend, she committed her life to Christ, and her life was radically changed. She began witnessing, sharing her testimony to anyone that would listen. She begged her parents to let her attend the public school so she could reach more for the Lord. So, her parents, having seen the change in Cassie, took her out of the Christian school and enrolled her in the public High School. Columbine High School.
In an interview with Christianity Today, Michael said "Cassie believed in God and lost her life for it. Now it's our time to live our faith boldly."
Would we, placed in the same position as this young girl, answer boldly like she did? She started her day of like any other, but had she know what she was going to face, I wonder if she would have gone to school anyway? Her day, no, her life, ended with a hard battle between right and wrong ... a simple question was asked of her, but her answer was one that would end her life here on earth. "Do you believe in God?" "YES." And after professing her faith in God, she was killed.
Now ... Imagine a gun being held to your head ... in front of your family, or friends, possibly church members, or even your children... And you are told that if you profess that you believe in God, you will be shot...
Today's Tuesday's Tossup is ...
This is a deep question, and I'd ask that you really think it through before asnwering. Think of all the possibilities, think of the ramifications, think of the lives that would go on without you ... then answer.
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19 comments:
Yes. Life on earth is temporary anyway. If I denied my belief, I would not see my loved ones in eternity with God.
Obviously I want to answer with a resounding and certain YES! I'm a believer and follower of Jesus Christ! but honestly I don't think this is a question I could ever answer without being in that position. It's not out of the earthly ramifications that I cannot answer...it is out of my own weak flesh.
While I pray I never face this crossroad...I'm also hopeful God would hold my hand during the crisis. This story is more a reminder to me to live the faith I profess...every day of my existance at any cost.
Wonderful post
Man, this one takes a lot of thinking. It's easy to say, "Yes, I'd stand for Christ" when you aren't faced with the actual situation. However, the situation itself isn't the test. It's just a part of the test. Everyday, we are faced with the question, "Do you believe in God?" No, someone may not be waving a gun in our faces about it, but people are watching our lives all-the-same. They know by our daily decisions just what we believe.
I don't think it's any mistake that those two guys asked Cassie if she believed in God. They knew she did. They went to school with her everyday, and you had already said she told everyone who would listen about Christ. They wanted to scare her out of her beliefs, but she had said yes to God hundreds of times along the journey of her life. So when the time came for this crucial test, she passed with flying colors.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to stand for Christ in the little daily trivial things so that when the time comes, I'll stand for Him about the big things!
As far as the ones I'll leave behind. I truly believe that all those I love will meet me one day in heaven. And if they aren't ready now to meet me there, how would I ever win them if I denied God?
Oh, and I forgot one more thing. God said that His mercies are new every morning. So if we are trusting Him and following Him, He'll give us grace sufficient for whatever a day may bring!!
Yes, because I know as the three Hebrew boys knew, that my God is able to deliver me, but if He chooses not to, I'll still not bow.
I would hope that my answer would be a "Yes" because God is so good and faithful and a relationship with Him is worth everything--even life itself! I think, honestly, it is one of those situations that you never know what you would do until it comes up. I believe that God pours out grace when we need and I would trust that He would stregthen me as needed for the moment.
Thinking about this is making me get choked up! Sniffle, sniffle...
I hope I would say yes and if it was a gun in my face I can say yes I would, however, if it faced my kids I am not as confident in my choices. It is amazing what Heather said and a great point.
Wow, Gibee: Between you and Heather S. my heart convicts me today. There's been some very deep discussions this going around this last while. I'm with Heather on this one. I hope I can make my every day life say "I believe in God" so that if something big and in this case life threatening comes along I can say a resounding "yes, I believe in God" because I've said it every day in every situation.
Standing alone with the gun to my head, a resounding Yes! as well. I would not want to compromise my faith for one more day on this earth.
Yet, as a mom, I cannot help but identify with what Paul said in Philippians 1:23, 24 -- "For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you."
If my children were present, I would feel exactly the same way as what Paul said above. I would want to go and be with Jesus, but my finite mind cannot get around the idea of it being "more needful" for me to stay and be the mama to my children.
Oh GiBee, this one has wrung me out! I have placed myself in that position in my mind -- too vividly, I'm afraid. I'm feeling like Randi . . . all choked up.
If I couldn't answer that question with a fearful and joyful "Yes," there would not be much point in continuing on in the world so I might as well allow my life to be taken. Not having a testimony of our Lord and Savior or knowing that I had denied it would make the world a place I would find it very hard to live in.
I read this post and left to go do my Bible study and think about it before I commented. The following verses were part of the study for today, "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God." (Luke 12:8-9) Like the others, my prayer is that I would have enough faith and strength in my God to say, "YES! I BELIEVE!!" My children or family being with me would make it that much harder to say "yes" and potentially be taken from them. However, I deeply desire for my child(ren) to see his mother live out what she professes. I'm not sure I could recover from having denied God in front of my child. A wise friend of mine once said, "The actions of our daily lives say more about our faith than anything else."
WOW!! I knew Cassie was a Christian but never knew the back story of her life...THANK YOU for sharing!!
As far as my answer...it's tough...I automatically want to say YES!! But since having children, I know that the image of them growing up without a mother and therefore without a godly witness would definitely cross my mind. It is not up to me to bring them to Christ...I can do everything in my power to teach them, but ultimately it is a relationship only THEY can choose for themselves. So with that...I would have to say a big resounding YES but at the same time it's something I don't know unless I was in that situation and that is scary to even think about...
Hi! I got here from Lauren's. What a darling site and I have loved reading your entries. It is wonderful to see honest people in this world today. I would have done the same. I will back to read more of your posts. Blessings!
Yes. I thought about it and it's still my answer.
Ok, I have indeed pondered this and I would absolutely say "Yes,I am a believer!" I have to have that trust. Even though I know thta I would be leaving my children and other family behind, I trust that God would take care of them. I am not afraid to die.
I have come to this trusting point in my life the hard way and there is no way that I would deny my Father now!
Now my prayer is to teach my children to stand up for Christ! We would never want anything horrible like that to happen to our children but if it ever did at least I would know, as Cassie's parents knew, that they were going to be with their Heavenly Father and walk the streets of gold and live in mansions prepared just for them!
Once again, girlie great discussion! You sure know how to pick 'em huh?
Peach's comment and Scripture summed up exactly how I feel about this question, GiBee. I have outgrown any hesitancy I ever felt about boldly saying "YES I believe," but to know I would be leaving my children behind motherless would rip my heart stem to stern. Yet, I have to trust that God has already numbered my days, and has plans for my kids as well. I just can hardly bring myself to contemplate it.
Amen to Tess' comment! I, like many of you, would certainly hope that I would be able to answer 'yes' to the question...whoo- what a hard one. Being from CO, this is an emotional one for me...hard to wrap my head around this one.
I live in Colorado and recently went to a Casting Pearls concert where Christy Miller, a survivor of Columbine High School, came to speak. If you ever get an opportunity to hear her story, it is amazing!
I know I couldn't do it. Not with two gorgeous little girls at home. Honestly, there was a time in the past when I could say "Hopefully, I could say yes.". But not any more.
I love the song and alot of Michael W. Smith songs still ring around my head and heart. But that one line in his song, "the mystery of all she could be"...that's a heavy one. It's a mystery. Part of her is in a box, and part of her is...well it's a mystery.
If someone had a gun to my head and asked, "Do you believe in God?", I'd look them straight in the eye and say "It depends what you mean by God" and hope for the best. But then again...who knows what I'd say in the heat of the moment.
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