Theology Deep Enough To Die For

I was just reading an article focusing on the experiences of an orthopedic surgeon from the Midwest who volunteered in Nigeria for VOMedical in our most recent edition of the Voice of the Martyrs newsletter.  I found his observations to be quite astute & wanted to share a piece of them with you:

"We live in a country that is very unique in the world today.  We read our Bibles, & we go to Sunday school class, & some of us are even involved in outreaches, & we give to missions, & we read stories about heroes of old.  When you are going home from work in Nigeria & you are a Christian, it is very possible that you might not come home at night.  But it is possible to come home at night even if you are caught, if you are willing to say, 'Allah is god & Mohammed is his prophet.'  Think about your family at home, & imagine that you are on your way home & you are stopped by a mob of vicious people saying, 'Repeat after me or die.'  Suddenly I realize our faith may be fairly broad theologically, but it is not all that deep sometimes.  These people, they don't know a lot of answers to Bible stories, & they probably can't give a good discussion on why Arminianism & Calvinism are right or wrong.  But I can tell you that when people step up to them with a gun or a knife, & they are asked, 'Will you repeat after me?' & they say, 'No, Jesus is Lord', their theology is very deep & we need that.  I need that."

We all need that, we need this perspective.  One day, persecution will come to us; we needn't think that we're immune to it, because God's Word promises this eventuality to all Christians.  I pray that our theology will be deep enough to die for when that time comes.  Our brothers & sisters all around the world who are experiencing this very trial even now need us.  They need our prayers, our support, our aid.  The body of Christ is one, so that when one part suffers, all suffer.  Even in our affluence & comfort - especially in our affluence & comfort - we must come alongside them in every way possible to show the love of Christ.  We need a theology that is deep, one that isn't purely head knowledge, one that doesn't just revel in debate or personal quiet times, but one that works itself out practically in love for our brethren & our enemies, one that is so deeply in love with & devoted to Christ alone that it is worth laying down our lives for.