“You like the cross, then you shall have it!” Martin’s father told him. Then he took his teenage son to a room at the top of the house and tied his wrists and ankles to a cross made of two beams. What had Martin done to be treated like this?
When Martin was very young, his father sent him to a Christian school, even though he hated Christianity. But first, he warned Martin sternly not to accept what he called “false teaching.” The boy hadn’t been at the school long, however, when something puzzled him. If the teaching of Jesus Christ was so wicked, as his father had said, how was it that these Christian people were so truthful, so kind and
so helpful?
During an epidemic of cholera, it was only the teachers and boys from the Christian school who cleared away the filth of the streets, while other people stood nearby and made fun of them! As he heard the story of the gospel and also saw it lived out in the lives of the Christians, he was very impressed.
What finally won Martin’s heart were some words he saw on a painting of the cross: “I did this for thee. What hast thou done for Me?” He could not forget it. After a day or two of serious thinking, he went to the principal’s office and told him he wanted to give his life to Christ. The principal reminded him that he must realize he was taking the risk of suffering greatly, or even facing death. He answered in a quiet voice that he trusted he was ready for that. Martin was only 16 years old.
Martin went home and told his parents that he had decided to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as he expected, his father was very angry, while his mother pled with him not to “disgrace the family.” But he was not disturbed by either threats or pleas. When nothing would persuade him to give up his faith, his father and brothers dragged him up to that room and tied him to the
wooden cross.
After a while, they brought him down and promised him food and money if he would give up on the Lord Jesus, but still he would not give in. Then they brought in one of the leading men of the town to argue with him. The man ended up getting so angry with faithful Martin that he beat him. Then Martin was sent up to his “prison” once again.
Two weeks later, Martin’s father had a remarkable dream in which he saw an angel come to him and say, “Why are you persecuting your son? Send him back to school.” So, to everyone’s surprise, Martin turned up at the school again where he got a big welcome from everyone.
The effect of the dream faded, however, and Martin was again severely persecuted at home. Then one day he managed to escape and again showed up at school. He was allowed to live in the hospital, and three of the school’s best boxers formed his bodyguard on the way back and forth from the hospital to the school.
One day he was nearly recaptured, but almost the whole student body turned out to protect him. For three hours the persecutors surrounded the school. Finally, Martin got away, and, for his safety, he was taken to a high school in another city. There, as a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he was baptized and took the name of Samuel.
Samuel went on faithfully for the Lord Jesus, in spite of so many troubles. What made him willing to suffer so much? It was what the Lord Jesus had suffered, in love, for him! Like another hymn says:
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
The Bible says we are all sinners, and that is exactly who He died for. When we think of the terrible judgment that the Lord Jesus took on Himself, that we deserved because of our sins, surely He is worthy of our best ... yes, our all! Are you following the Lord Jesus like young Martin did?
Messages of God’s Love 2/14//2021