Death loses its sting

Series: Why Should I Encounter Persecuted Christians?

I need to encounter persecuted Christians because they help to take away my fear of death.

There is a famous book called The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. It is his contention that the whole of the western world is really a gigantic playground to distract us from ever facing the fact that we will all die!
Thinking about death is all but forbidden. Preparing for it is seen as a sign of morbidity.
We arrange for the elderly to die out of sight in hostels and hospitals. Our entertainments never mention it. And huge multinational companies are dedicated to producing products that promise to keep the effects of aging at bay, from anti-wrinkle creams to plastic surgery.
Modern people think there is no greater tragedy than to die before becoming old.
When Princess Diana was killed in 1997, I remember my friends muttering in disbelief: "How can she die at 36 years of age? No one should die at 36."
Inevitably, when we are too scared to face death, we end up being a slave to it. Even Christians can show the same dread of it as others.
But an encounter with persecuted Christians can go a long way to diffusing this sense of dread.
During 20 years of reporting on persecuted churches, I have interviewed hundreds of Christians who thought they were going to die for their faith. All of them - and I really do mean all of them - exhibited two amazing characteristics:
Surprising peace and joy
One, they experienced unspeakable peace and joy in the midst of the pain as they began to feel death draw near.
Two, they were as surprised as anyone that they were not afraid of death at the time.
Take Pastor You Yong, kidnapped by Islamic extremists from his church outside Madiun, Indonesia, in December 2001. Furious that his church was full of Muslim converts, the extremists showered him with questions, trying to provoke him to attack them.
They beat him and finally held a machete to his throat. He assumed he was about to die.
But what was going on inside Pastor You? Deeper than all the pain or fear? This is how he put it:
"I was amazed that throughout the ordeal I felt an incredible peace.
"I was also amazed at the answers I was able to give them. That verse came true - 'When you are brought to trial, do not worry about what to say, for when the time comes, you will be given what to say,' (Matthew 10:19).
"The more they tried to provoke me, the more peace I felt."
Tragedy into blessing
I remember a pastor from the Soviet Union, who watched his son being beaten to death by the KGB in front of his eyes because he refused to reveal the location of his underground printing press.
It was more than a father could stand.
He watched the beating get more brutal, hearing his son's bones breaking.
"I thought they would stop, but they went on and on," he said.
"I felt the blows as if they were on me, and when I at last realized they intended to beat him to death, I made to cry out and say, 'Stop, spare my son. I will tell you everything.'"
But just before he could open his mouth, his son screamed: "Don't tell them anything, Father. I can see Jesus coming, and He's beautiful."
Said the father years later: "I recall my amazement at what I was feeling as my son died. I felt so thankful that my son was in the bosom of Jesus.
"No, it was more powerful than that. I was envious.
"I still cannot understand it. It was just that Jesus came so close; even the worst tragedy in the world could be felt as a blessing."
So when death reaches out its icy hand even in more everyday ways - when the plane hits an air pocket, or the results of the suspected cancer scan are due - I remember the experiences of my persecuted friends.
I am strengthened to think: "If they have been where I am about to go, and still testify that Jesus is beautiful and that he gives unaccountable peace, well, it is no tragedy to tread this well-worn path."
Their experiences in the face of death help to take the dread of death away.

'Far better'
Of course, I know all this from the Bible. Paul says that to be with Christ is "far better."
And I have read that wonderful passage in Acts 7 where Stephen has the face of an angel when he is stoned to death.
But the truth comes with more power when a flesh-and-blood person who has faced death puts their arms around you and says: "You will have peace, and Jesus will be with you in the midst of it all."
Death just cannot be that bad if Jesus is that great!

Other articles in this series:

• Achievement or Sacrifice?
• Stop Complaining
• Our Debt to Spiritual Ancestors
• Hope for Hard Times
• The Battle for Religious Freedom Never Ends
• Seeing the Bible through Persecuted Eyes
• The Power of Song
• Simple Faith
• Key Ingredients in Hospitality
• The Beauty of Mystery
• Awakening to Struggle
• Obstacles to Instruments
• God is Not Safe
• Deliverance Comes Through Endurance
• Imperfect People Do God's Will