A gun to your head

TODAY'S READING: Daniel 3:1-30
What if someone put a gun to your head and asked you if you believed in God?
What would your answer be?
These leads me to two questions.
Do you live the kind of life where people know you are a follower of Jesus?
Do you trust God enough that you would answer yes?
These three men we read about in Daniel faced a similar situation. They were placing their allegiance with God above everything. They lived their lives in a way that made it obvious who their God was. When faced with certain death or bowing to a different God, this was their response.
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18)
They were willing to lay it all on the line.
There was a teenager who faced a similar situation back in April of 1999. Cassie Bernall was a student at Columbine High School. On April 20, 1999, a gun was put to her head and she was asked if she believed in God. I have two observations. First of all, she must have been living for Jesus to be put in that situation. I do not believe she was randomly chosen. I think she was picked out because her faith was showing itself in her life.
Second, when faced with the option to sell out God and live, she chose to remain faithful and give her life. But this was not just a spur of the moment decision. It was a lifestyle choice. Here is an excerpt from a note that Cassie's mom found after her death...
"When God doesn't want me to do something, I definitely know it. When he wants me to do something, even if it means going outside my comfort zone, I know that too. I feel pushed in the direction I need to go...I try to stand up for my faith at school...It can be discouraging, but it can also be rewarding...I will die for my God. I will die for my faith. It's the least I can do for Christ dying for me."
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made their decision long before they stood before the furnace. Cassie Bernall made her decision long before the gun was against her temple.
Have you made your decision yet? I am not just talking about a decision to be baptized. No, it goes much deeper. Have you made a decision to be a sold-out follower of the Christ? Have you decided that no matter what comes your way that you will be faithful?
Faithfulness is not about showing up at a church building. Faithfulness is not accomplished when we are baptized or by taking communion every week.
Are those a part of our faith walk? Absoultely.
But true faithfulness to God comes when we are willing to lay down our lives. It may not involve physical death, but it does involve death.
Death of our pride.
Death of our desires.
Death of our selfishness.
Most of us will never stand before a furnace or have a gun pointed at our head, but all of us will face tests on a daily basis. The question we must ask ourselves is if we have made the decision to do what God has called us to do. In the words of modern-day, teenage martyr Cassie Bernall, "I will die for my God. I will die for my faith. It's the least I can do for Christ dying for me."