The Life of Riley - Part 2

Mark 13:9 You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. Matthew 10:22-23 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. You know, it's hard to think about. I am so comfortable in my life that it is hard to realize there are so many others who are not. I'm not talking sickness....we're all touched by that. I'm talking poverty, persecution, abuse. Ugly things that hurt people. Ugly things I don't much want to acknowledge because it hurts me to realize exactly what is happening. Kind of a 'head in the sand' technique. What I don't know can't hurt me. Being a teacher kind of kept me in the middle zone. I often suspected a child was not being treated properly, but most of the time the evidence was well hidden. I didn't really have to face it completely. I didn't ever see it, or fully know what had happened. I just knew something was wrong. It was the only way I could do the job. If I had complete knowledge, like God does, I would have never been able to emotionally survive as a teacher. No way. I'm like that in other areas too. I don't want to actually see the seamy side of life. I know it's there, but I don't want to completely know about it. And if I do see it in a fictionalized presentation, like on tv, I pretty much tell myself to remember it is fiction and doesn't really happen this way. So, when I asked for the copy of the book "Tortured for Christ" I don't know what I thought I was going to read. The definition of the word 'torture' is 'the action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or in order to force them to do or say something'. Severe pain. Not pretty. Very graphic. Exactly what our Savior did for us on the cross. And I didn't even really get that until I saw "The Passion of the Christ" and had to force myself to watch what He suffered. It stayed with me a long time. I finally got it. And it made a difference to me. As Christians, I feel we must force ourselves to look at what some other Christians have suffered for our Lord. It's important because we have to understand our Christianity is not what many others have experienced and are experiencing. I believe that attempt to understand is what will strengthen us and give us the passion we need to have to live for Christ in the world today. For that reason, I would like to describe some of the things Richard Wurmbrand suffered in his role as a Christian in Romania. It's not to grandstand or be graphic for the sake of shocking you, as some television shows are. It's to remind us we are in a group of people who are not always THE SAME as us. People who know what it means to risk everything for our Savior. People who witness for Him no matter what happens to them. Richard Wurmbrand was kidnapped on the street by secret police in 1948. He was on his way to church. He was taken to a prison where he was kept secretly for 8 years. His wife was told he was dead. The prisons were full of children, ministers, anyone who had verbally witnessed their faith as Christians. Mr. Wurmbrand could not tell us all of the torture he endured, but he was able to tell some of it. He says that in a Communist country, every prisoner is tortured.He tells of a pastor by the name of Florescu who was tortured with red-hot iron pokers and knives. He was badly beaten, then starving rats were driven into his cell thru a pipe. He couldn't sleep because he had to constantly fight them off. He was forced to stand for two weeks, night and day. The Communists wanted him to 'give up' other Christians, but he would not. Then, they brought in his 14 year old son and began beating the boy severely in front of the pastor. Florescu stood it as long as he could, then cried out to his son that he had to tell them, he could not watch any more. The boy begged his father not to, as he did not want a traitor as a parent. The Communists became so enraged they beat the boy to death. He died praising God. They had handcuffs placed on their wrists with very sharp nails sticking out on the inside. If totally still, the nails didn't cut. The cells were so cold however, their bodies shook and their wrists were torn with the nails. They were hung upside down on ropes and beaten. They were placed in 'refrigerator cells' where ice and frost covered the inside. Doctors would watch until they saw they were close to freezing to death. They would be brought out, warmed up, then thrown back in over and over again. They were forced to stand in wooden boxes only slightly larger than their bodies. Dozens of sharp nails were driven into every side of the box. Again, if they stood perfectly still they weren't hurt. They stayed in these boxes for what was descibed as 'endless hours'. Sometimes they were tied to crosses for four days and nights. Hundreds of other prisoners would be forced to use the faces and the bodies of the people on the crosses as toilets. The crosses were erected and the Communists would shout, "Look at your Christ! How beautiful he is! What fragrence he brings from heaven!" One priest was forced to use human excrement and urine as the ingredients for Holy Communion. The obscene and horrible tortures went on and on, but Wurmbrand could not relate them all. He said they simply cannot be told. I can't imagine worse. This is the amazing part..... Wurmbrand and many of his fellow prisoners STILL LOVED and WITNESSED to their torturers. There is story after story of the guards and officials who found Christ through the witness, example, and steadfast love of Christ shown to them by their prisoners. Many of them died in the same prison as Christians. Unbelievable. We know that the persecution of Christians still exists in the world today. As a matter of fact, experts who know the truth tell us Christian persecution is worse than it has ever been. That's why I share these stories. They inspire me to be a better witness for my Lord. If these people endured what they did and STILL remained faithful witnesses, how can I do any less? My 'Life of Riley' becomes shameful in the light of these sacrifices. Being a faithful witness to the amazing love of my Savior is the least I can do. I owe Him that much. I owe Him everything. (To receive a free copy of this book, go to www.persecution.com and scroll down to the icon.) .3