In the news, we all-too-frequently hear of yet another suicide bomber attack. What drives these zealots to be so dedicated to their task as to willingly destroy their own bodies in the pursuit of their goals? It is the belief that the sacrifice is worth making, usually coupled with the promise of an instant reward of great value in paradise. In World War II, the Japanese Kamikaze pilots believed that their emperor was a god, and that sacrificing their life for him would do some eternal good. The terrorist hijackers of September 11, 2001 infamy suffered from a similar deception. Among the personal effects left behind by those who stole airplanes, killed thousands of people, and destroyed a large amount of property at the cost of their own lives, investigators found "spiritual exercise" books that these murderers meditated on. They mistakenly believed that they would go straight to heaven for their act of war on the infidels. In Israel, suicide bomber attacks have been going on, and on, and on.
Man is naturally afraid of death. When that fear is overcome, he is capable of almost anything. Jesus Christ said:
"Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Matthew 10:28, WEB)
This sounds pretty radical. We aren't supposed to be afraid of bodily death. Why not? No human can kill your soul. Only God can do that, and He is the one who has worked so hard to save us. This sounds like it is as radical as some of our enemies get. In Philippians 1:21, Paul says:
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Isn't this exactly the same kind of attitude that turns people into radicals? Yes!
So both those who follow Jesus Christ and those who follow some who oppose Him are exhorted not to fear death. There is a big difference in our missions, though! Jesus said in John 10:10:
"The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly."
As imitators of Jesus Christ with the Spirit of the Living God inside of us, we are continuing Jesus' service in bringing life to people by proclaiming and publishing the same message of life that He proclaimed when He walked among us in His own body. Instead of being deceived into thinking that we must lay our lives down to steal, kill, and destroy, we embrace the Truth, which sets people free. (See John 8:31-32.)
Here is what we are supposed to do with radical faith in God:
"This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)
I believe that when even a few of us disciples of Jesus Christ agree together to impact the world with God's kind of love, with no fear of what people may do to us -- even if they kill our bodies -- then we will see explosive revival that brings restoration and peace with even greater impact than any evil thing the devil has done or inspired at any time before now. Where sin abounds, grace must abound much more. (See Romans 5:19-21.)
One of our greatest sources of joy is to fellowship with men of radical faith here in Papua New Guinea, like Brother Clemens, above, and Pastor Simon, below, in Madang Province.
