October 2021 Persecution Magazine

Hope for the Present
Tell My Family I Died Well
“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to
live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.
Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hardpressed
between the two. My desire is to
depart and be with Christ, for that is
far better.” - Philippians 1:21-23
The following is an excerpt from Jeff King’s upcoming devotional book focused on spiritual lessons from the persecuted. For information about
pre-orders, please contact: moreinfo@persecution.org.
The sharp blade of a machete cut the
ropes that tied Pastor Ojih’s feet
together. Rough hands jerked him to
his feet from the ground where he had laid for
hours, singing praises to God with his cheek
pressed into the dirt.
Pastor Ojih and several other Christians had
been captured by radical Islamists, bound,
and left alone to contemplate their fate under
the scorching heat of Nigeria’s sun. They
were told to stand and decide their fate.
“If you want to live for Christ, go to this
side,” his captor said, jerking his hand toward
a man dressed in white with a sword who
stood apart from the captives. “If you want to
go for Mohammad, remain where you are.”
Pastor Ojih led the way for those who would
stand for Christ with a song of praise coming
from his lips. Seven others followed. He
watched, with tears in his eyes, as the men
who turned to Islam to save their lives began
to recite the Arabic vows to convert to Islam.
Pastor Ojih kneeled in front of his
executioner and was given one last chance.
His executioner raised his sword and asked
him if he wanted to live as a Muslim or die
as a Christian.
The husband and father of four turned to his
companions and spoke his last words. “If you
survive, tell my family that I died well and
am living with Christ. And if we all die, we
know that we died for the Lord.”
After hearing the testimonies of so many
martyrs over the years, I’m struck by the fact
that in account after account, you will find
that the death of the martyr often involves a
conscious choice. They are given a choice to
turn away from Christ and live or to die in
Christ.
If you are like most people, when you read
accounts like Pastor Ojih and these early
Christians, you are struck by their courage
and are probably asking yourself, “Could I
do what they did? Could I die as a faithful
witness with a sword over my neck?”
In Luke 14:33, Jesus says, “Any of you who
does not give everything he has, cannot be
my disciple.” Are we willing to give up
everything, even our own life, for God? He
demands our everything, and yet we hold
back. Our love for the world and its comforts
often rivals our love for the One who offers
us the greatest of treasures, an unconditional,
incomprehensible love and the gift of eternal
life.
Jesus calls us in Matthew 22 to love the
Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind.
The martyrs are an inspiring example of
what loving the Lord with all that is within
us looks like. They’re not just being willing,
but purposefully choosing to lay down
their very life in order to demonstrate just
12 PERSECU ION.ORG
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
OCTOBER 2021