If anyone should go down in history as a fearless, strictly faithful man
of God, it was John. But we find him languishing in prison until, one day,
without warning, a soldier comes to the prison, pulls out his sword and – just
like that – slices off John’s head. If that’s not bad enough, John’s head is then
placed on a food-serving platter and presented trophy-like at a birthday party.
Why? Because a pretty young girl with a vengeful, scheming mother
performed a dance for an unscrupulous, power-crazed would-be king.
A holy man’s life snuffed out for little more than a party trick.
Why would God allow such a travesty? Doesn’t God look after His own? Is
life so cheap? Jesus tried to make some time to mourn for John when He heard
the news (Matthew 14:13) but, on this occasion, He was unable to escape the crowds
who needed Him.
If anyone deserved an honourable burial, with trumpets, eulogies and
great fanfare, it was John. But it was not to be.
I think also of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who, just a few weeks before the
death of Hitler and the end of the Second World War, was hanged, and his naked
body disposed of like so much rubbish from the kitchen.
The Bible does not promise that our good deeds will receive due
recognition in this life. Nor does it promise that we will receive honour from
men. Rather, it promises honour and
rewards in a Kingdom that is yet to come.
An honest reading of the Bible, therefore, steels us for persecution and
ridicule, while simultaneously filling us with a supreme, all-conquering hope
for a glorious future, ushered in with the words: “Well done, good and faithful
servant.”
The Bible thus provides the ideal balance of solemn warnings for this
life and promises for a future life. Servants
of God find in its pages both the courage to face incredible difficulty and abundant
reason to live positively. We learn to
appreciate the grace and comfort of God’s presence along the way and the sense
that none of it is ever in vain.
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