Revelation 13:10 "If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints." ....read Revelation 13:9-11
Peter brought his sword down upon the slave of the High Priest as they captured Jesus. Jesus responded; JOHN 18 10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
11Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" .........And later he says WHY.
36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
It would indeed be a very difficult thing to do, to trust the Lord in the face of violent aggression. None of us are geared that way. Personally, having served in combat in Viet Nam..[ purple heart and citations] I don't know if I could not retaliate, say if someone were to try to hurt my granddaughter.
I couldn't see Jesus, or any of the Apostles doing so. The thing about the flesh, our selfish nature, is it's obsessive compulsion to protect it's own, and never give an inch. I think that if we learn to die to ourselves, and our Adam nature on a daily basis;
"IF ANY MAN WOULD COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, PICK UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME DAILY."
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
I believe I'll be able to endure anything, IF I die today to myself, and follow Jesus. This will prepare me for that day of trial, when my faith is built up in maturity, and then whatever happens, I will stand like Stephen, and proclaim real love for my murderers, or my family.
We can never get there by our own nobility or bravery or integrity, but, Patience with love is a FRUIT, that like all fruits, must be grown.
The question itself is a somewhat fear provoking, like asking someone how they will endure martyrdom. As Peter's bravado faded into cowardly betrayal, when he denied knowing Jesus, who knows how one will respond?
The other factor, that pounds down the scale on our side is GRACE. there are thousands of testimonies [ even today ] about God's sovereign GRACE , just for His names sake, and just because of His love, toward those being tortured and murdered for Jesus's sake.
The key is that we must learn how to love TODAY, to find GRACE in a time of need tomorrow. |