Saturday, December 01, 2007

The Costly Call



I've just finished reading both of these absolutely amazing books. They are both a compilation of 20 stories each of first person accounts of the persecution faced when converting to Christianity around the world. The first book is a story of 20 different people raised as Muslims from 18 different countries. The second has 8 stories from former Muslims, 4 from former Hindus, 4 from former Buddhist, and 4 from former Secularist/Communist.


The saddest thing was that the majority of the persecution was a result of their family members who disowned them and then turned them over to authorities. These books chronicle everything from beheadings, to major torture, to abandonment and everything in between. They are two of the most heart wrenching books I have ever read. It will definitely challenge you to pray for those around the world who accept Christ from these backgrounds and in countries that don't allow such freedom.



However, that is not the whole story. The thing that the books and stories have done the most for me is challenge me big time to look at my life and what I'm willing to do in order to tell others of Christ, no matter the cost. Every one of these people never once faltered in sharing Christ despite and often times in the midst of brutal torture. They counted everything as lost except that they had Christ and their lives are a living testimony of that faith.

3 comments:

shannon w kirkpatrick said...

amen.

Dionne said...

You are just cruising through the books. I suppose thats what happens when you don't have access to TV ;-). I'm joining a friend in a 50 book goal next year, its going to be quite the challenge.

Cajun Tiger said...

I've read 13 books in the last 3 months, but the first month I only read 2 so really is 11 books in two months. Yeah, not much else to do with free time. =) I normally average about a book a week and have been doing that for going on about 12 years. I really enjoy learning and I learn best by reading.