Thoughts From Philippians 1 - Part 4

  for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain. Phil. 1:19-25

       A lot of people go on Holy Land tours and maybe someday we will, too. To be baptized in the Jordan like Jesus, to boat on the Sea of Galilee like the disciples, to sit where Jesus fed the 5000 and where He preached the sermon on the mount, to view Golgotha or even to venture into Greece and trace Paul's travels are moving experiences, or so they say. I've got an idea that's cheaper and safer, however. I get the opportunity to hold in my hands on a daily basis, the same words that Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Richard Wurmbrand, Corrie ten Boom, John Bunyan, and Martin Luther held in their hands - the Bible.

     What do these names have in common - they were, like Paul writing to Phillippi, in prison for their faith. Like the 23 South Korean missionaries held hostage in 2007 by the Taliban, 2 of which were executed, or Mehran Shamloui sentenced 10 years in 2025 for house churching, Narges Nasri 16 years in 2025 for Christian activities, Abbas Soori 15 years in 2025 for house churching, Zahra Gholami and Hossein Mohammedi 2 years for "Christian activities", and Hakop Gochumyan 10 years in 2024 for deviant proselytizing, I picture them reading the same words I held in my hands today, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Like Paul, they would be praying that they wouldn't be put to shame but would stand strong in the face of torture, death, suffering, starvation, loneliness and not back down. Even John the Baptist had doubts in the face of this so how could "lesser men" hope to stand strong? That's probably what those prisoners are now praying.

        These same words that I hold in my hands would encourage them that this life is a vapor and soon Heaven awaits so even if they die, that's actually better than life on Earth so it is win win for Christians. And this is not to mention the everyday Christians who are undergoing radiation, chemotherapy, colostomies for cancer or fatal diseases. You don't have to be in prison to find comfort from the same words that in our day comforted Nabeel Quershi and Tim Keller as they changed locations due to cancer.

      So maybe I'll walk the same ground that Jesus walked on in Israel, but for now I'm more than content to read the same words that the saints who have gone on before me have read.