The Bottom Line

"You shall have no other gods before me."
Exodus 20:3

     Perhaps one day, an Islamic terrorist will take me by the hair and demand I convert to Islam or die. This has already been happening in various parts of the world so I will not be naive enough to think, "It can't happen to me." How will I react?

     In the third chapter of Daniel, this type of persecution happened to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were ordered to worship the golden image of the king or be thrown into a fiery furnace which  meant certain death. I adore their courageous, faithful response when they said to the king:

     "We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3: 16-18)

     You see, this is not a question about your life; it's not about you. This is about the strength, the holiness, the absolute power of the God you serve. The bottom line is, Allah will never love me so much that he would send his son into the world, not to condemn, but to save me. Allah was not the fourth man in that fiery furnace, walking unbound and unscathed by the flames. Allah did not rouse from death by crucifixtion to sit at the right hand of God in all his glory, nor will he be coming back again to rapture his loved followers to eternal life in heaven. No sir!

     Whether I live or die, I gain because I have Christ, the Living One, reigning in my heart. He is able to save, to rescue me. I will not serve any other god. Amen.