A Thought

"The tyrant dies, and his rule is over; the martyr dies, and his rule begins." Soren Kierkegaard

Looking to Jesus' teaching about storing treasure in heaven rather than seeking treasure on earth, what Kierkegaard is expressing is the reality of the temporal world we live in vs. Divine and Eternal Kingdom which awaits us.

But notice the difference. What we try to take from this life never really becomes ours, and we certainly cannot take it with us when our time is past. Yet when we give completely of ourselves in this life, when we put self aside for the well-being of others first, we likely gain nothing here but store up treasure in heaven, as our Lord has taught us.

What may trip us up, however, is the idea of a martyr's death. We've come to associate "martyr" with literally dying for the sake and the cause of Christ. Yet the world "martyr" itself simply means "witness" (from the Greek "martur"). If we think of giving so completely of ourselves, then, we figuratively "die to self" in order to live for another.

So it goes that as we give up more and more of ourselves for what we claim to believe, our lives become more about our beliefs, our faith, that it does about ourselves. And when this happens, Christ increases!

The very best we can give to our spouses, our children, and our church is our "martyrdom". We do not have to physically cease existing; we simply have to allow The Lord His rightful, prominent place. Only then will others believe our witness. Only then does He truly reign. Only then is He glorified above all else.

The Lord bless you this very day,
Michael