Poet Oscar Wilde once said, “People may die for what they think to be true but people don’t die for what they know to be a lie.”
Now, before you click out of this blog because ‘dying’ depresses you. Hang with me.
The most precious thing we possess as humans is…(drum roll please)…
Life.
Profound stuff isn’t it?
Of course, there are a lot of things we hold dear to our hearts. Family, friends, careers, money, and respect—to name a few. Some of these things would be harder to give up than others. But ultimately it is our very lives that are most valuable to us.
It is true many people over the years have willingly given up their lives for something they believed in. A mission. A purpose. A cause. To make a point. They were willing to lose their life in order to win a war. Whatever that war might be.
But no one actually says, “You know what? I realize this mission and this cause is a complete lie. But I will go ahead and die anyway just for the heck of it. Just for kicks and giggles.”
No terrorist flies into a building if they know the mission to be a lie.
Take a wild guess: What truth have people died for the most in history?
The Gospel. The Good News. In fact, Jesus himself said, “I am the Truth” (John 14:6).
Over 70 million people in history have died for this Truth. Count to five. One more person just died for the Gospel. Count to five again. One more person. You get the picture.
Death is the number one reason why the Bible is more historically reliable than any other book ever written. People have even died trying to get others a copy of the Bible so they could read it.
Jesus lived a perfect life. He meant what He said. He said what He meant. He walked his talk and talked his walk. He healed and walked on water and calmed storms and raised the dead. Ultimately, He “laid down His life for us” (John 15:13). He didn’t stop there. Three days later He “rose again” (1 Cor. 15:4).
Sounds like a great story doesn’t it? Many people don’t believe it because they think the Bible is just that: a story, a myth, a fairy tale, and another piece of literature.
Over 70 million people have died for just a great story? A fairy tale? That’s a lot of dumb people.
What are we living for? What are we willing to die for? When people look at our lives do they see the Truth? Do our lives serve as evidence the Bible is one of many stories or that it is the one and only true story?
May His story be our story. May we die to many things so we can live for the one thing. May we live and die for the One who lived and died for us.
Jesus.