'28' - Day 14

There’s a new show on Spike called “1000 Ways to Die” I happened upon a few nights ago. It caught my attention. It intrigued me for a moment. The basic premise of the show is to factually recreate different ways people have actually died and interview with experts that describe the science behind each death.

The bit I watched included a sword-swallower. Apparently, this particular guy was being heckled at a show once when a man stepped from the audience and persuaded him to swallow his umbrella. He did, but once he got it down, his throat triggered the release mechanism and the umbrella opened up. No more gory details necessary…you get the picture.

Aside from something stupid like this, I have to think that the three worse ways to die are by drowning, by fire, or being stoned; mainly because death is not immediate and, I can only imagine, very painful.

Stoning refers to a form of capital punishment where an organized group throws stones at the convicted individual until the person dies. These weren’t small stones either.

There are a half dozen or so accounts in the Bible of people being stoned. One unique account occurs in Acts 14:19; unique because Paul didn’t actually die.

The important lesson to be learned from Paul’s stoning here is that God does not always protect his servants from harm. That’s still a valid truth today. The Kingdom of God often advances at a great cost to God’s servants. Around the world, people face persecution for their faith daily. Do they give up? No! Do they quit? Never!

Did Paul give up? Did he quit? No, he was filled with great courage. He stood up. He wiped the blood off himself. Then he went back into the city that had stoned him (Acts 14:20). Paul was not a quitter. The Spirit gave him great courage to face suffering and persecution.

To grow spiritually, we need the attitude Paul had towards suffering. Don’t quit when people take advantage of your kindness, desert you, don’t appreciate you, or criticize you. Endure! Persevere! Keep climbing! Grow in grace. The person who endures to the end will be saved. Don’t be easily offended. Have the courage to continue. Encourage yourself from time to time. Don’t be a quitter.