Following Christ Even Unto Death
"I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whithersoever thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not" (Joh_21:18).
Christ spoke these words signifying by what death Peter should glorify God, and when he had so spoken, He said unto him: "Follow Me".
Peter had once, as we have just seen in the preceding theme, told Christ to "pity Himself." Now the months have gone by, and Jesus Christ has died and been raised from the dead. He is standing before Peter, and He tells him that he will be called upon to die as a martyr to the faith, then He said: "Follow thou Me".
Although Peter had hesitated when Christ spoke of His own death, there seems to be absolutely no hesitancy now. Peter is ready to go all the way with Christ. Years later Peter said: "Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me". Thus during all the years of his ministry, Peter knew that he would be called upon, finally, to suffer martyrdom.
"I saw the martyr it the stake,
The flames could lot his courage shake,
Nor death his soul appall:
I asked him whence his strength was given;
He looked triumphantly to Heaven,
And told me ‘Christ was all.’"
The Word of God speaks of some who "loved not their lives unto the death". The Word of God admonishes us: "Be thou faithful unto death".
We are living in the twentieth century of the Church of Christ; we are living in a land where there is religious freedom. It hardly seems that there is any immediate danger of our being called upon to die for our faith, but we should always hold ourselves in readiness for that very thing.
If we are called upon to give our lives for Jesus Christ, we must remember that we will have a martyr’s crown, a crown of life.
"Must Jesus bear the Cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for every one,
And there’s a cross for me."
"A beautiful crown in Heaven to wear,
For those who here the cross will bear,
Then bear it, my brother, and when you get there
A beautiful crown you’ll wear."
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR