MURDERED OR MARTYRED?

 

It is hard for me to put into words how I feel about the recent shootings of nine people who were in a Bible Study at Emanuel A.M.E. Church.  Something disallows me to feel saddened although it is quite sad what happened.  If I could ascribe an emotion to it the closest one would be anger but even that is a stretch.  I dare not call it hopeless resignation although I do believe the atmosphere and tone within this country as of late has been conducive to such an act of violence against blacks.  Whether being killed in isolated incidents across the country or in groups the overall devaluation of certain lives in this country has become commonplace and has given birth to the slogan ‘Black Lives Matter.”  Certainly they do.  All lives matter and we must be careful not to esteem some more than the others. 

There seemed, to me, to be an undertone that, perhaps, the lives lost in that church mattered more than, say, the lives of Trayvon Martin or Eric Garner and countless others because they were in prayer and not perceived as thugs or having a spotty past.  Like I said I think the deaths of some have created an atmosphere that black lives are targets across the board. 

Before I could further entertain such thoughts I heard Holy Spirit speak to me about what is really at stake.  I heard him speak that God will not be mocked.  21-year-old Dylann Roof was there to mock God.  He was there like a wolf in sheep’s clothing in an attempt to prove that God cannot save those who worship Him.  He was there in an attempt to mock those who believe and trust in God.  He was there to scatter the sheep– not just in Charleston, South Carolina but throughout the body of Christ.  He was there to suppress the word of the Lord very much like the crucifixion of Jesus was meant to be the end of what Jesus stood for and preached. 

What the devil didn’t know then and doesn’t know now in the person of Dylann Roof is precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)  Like the recent martyrdom of the 21 Coptic Christians by ISIS those nine Christians killed here in the United States died as martyrs worshipping the One true living, Almighty God.

They are absent from this life and their bodies but present with the Lord.  Instead of mocking God, Dylann Roof confirmed His word in 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and nothing shall separate them from God’s love.  They have achieved the ultimate victory; to die with a worship on their lips.  Instead of disgracing them he has bestowed upon them God’s honor. 

He also awakened the body of Christ as a whole and has reminded us to watch and pray.  Surely we are in the latter part of the last days and the sons of God are called upon to decide without a doubt whether they are with God or if they are His enemies.  With tribulation some will fall away from the faith.  The good thing is more will take a stand and the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ will spread like a wildfire and even more than the devil counted on will catch the flame and burn ever hotter for Jesus Christ.