Can You Hear the Blood on the Beach Cry Out?

Everyone knows that a story written in blood demands to be heard.

But, it’s not always that simple.

Whenever a group of Christians is rounded up and murdered in Jesus’ name, there are some non-Christians who get caught in the crossfire. Not everyone known as a Christian has actually entered into a relationship with Jesus.

So, how tragic would that be? Killed in the name of a God you don’t actually know?

We live in times when it’s dangerous to be a believer. To know and love Jesus, to be in relationship with the Son of the Living God, to testify that there is only one way to salvation and it lies through Jesus, puts a person at risk of the blade.

That’s bad enough.

But imagine you’re just playing at Christianity, you’re a on a religious ride-a-long, you’ve been operating under the flag of faith but down deep you know, you don’t get it. One day, you’re going to decide what you really think about Jesus but today never feels like the day so you wait.

Until the men with the guns shove you into a van with the others. Now, you’re no longer a person with time to choose. This Jesus question isn’t a topic for another day. The men in black don’t care what you believe. You’re a pawn. You’re a redshirt. You’re an extra in their Youtube slasher flick. And they don’t care how your story ends.

Now, what you believe matters. Because what’s more dangerous in these times than knowing Jesus is entering eternity without knowing Him.

These are days to decide. These are times to know. Before that moment comes when there’s no one to ask, you need to know what you believe about Jesus.

He may not be your choice. There were plenty who met Jesus and chose to walk away. There were many who witnessed the miracles, heard the parables firsthand, and watched their neighbors be healed who decided He wasn’t their Messiah. He didn’t smite them. He didn’t have His disciples take them to the shore and eliminate them. He let them go and from the cross, He forgave even the ones who drove nails into His hands.

He died to save us because there’s something to be saved from – an eternity separated from God. I don’t know the details of what that looks like but I don’t want it. God is love and a loveless eternity sounds, to me, like Hell.

This is a time to choose sides. Not political parties. Not religious affiliations. Not national loyalties. No, the One who divided time divides us again. Do you follow Jesus or not? There’s a bounty on Jesus followers on this side of eternity – social, political, and life or death – so it’s no time to think you can be “sort of” Christian.

Jesus isn’t elusive. God wants to be known. He is the God who speaks – through creation, through His Word, and through His Son, Jesus Christ. And we who love Him tell His story – with our words, with our lives, and sometimes with our spilled blood. Because, I promise you, the people who were really in trouble on that beach in Libya were the men in black not the ones who died. The story of the dead will endure but the story of the murderers will one day cease to be told. “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Revelation 12:11 (ESV)

Do you believe or are you hiding behind a flag a faith you’re not sure will cover you? These aren’t times to wait for tomorrow to know Jesus. Today is the real estate on which we stand. Jesus cares enough about your story to die for you. He cares not just how your story ends but where you are in it now – today.

The blood on the beach cries out to you to decide – – will you follow Jesus or will you decide He is not the Son of God, not the only way to salvation, not the doorway to eternal life?

And if you do know Him, is your life telling the story He designed you to tell? Are you living the fullness of life in Christ you dreamed you would live when you first came to know Him? Our testimonies can be told through our lives or through our deaths. The important question is: Do you know the One in whose name you may be persecuted?

He is worth knowing. Listen to the testimony of those who died. Jesus is worth knowing.

If you want to know more about Jesus or you want help learning to tell your story, contact me.