In February 2015 the terrorist group ISIS beheaded twenty-one Christians on a beach in Libya. Most of them were Egyptian migrant laborers working to provide for their families. ISIS slaughtered the men to shock the world with terror. The response of their families sent an altogether different message. One mother of a twenty-five-year-old victim said, “I’m proud of my son. He did not change his faith…I thank God.” These men could have lived. With a simple confession of Allah, knives would have been lowered.
What would you have done? The question is more than academic. You may not face blades and terrorists, but don’t you face critics and accusers? Family members who mock your beliefs. Professors make fun of your faith. Colleagues gossip about your convictions. Do you sometimes feel all alone? Perhaps you were made for this moment.
