To Live is Christ

"...to live is Christ, and to die is gain!"

"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost..."

Luke 14:27-28

As he slowly came around, his eyes adjusted to the smoke. He cried out for his pastor, but no one answered. Horrified, he quickly began digging his way out of the pile of flesh and rubble.

That morning, he had been among a group of 190 North Korean believers when the police stormed in, rounded them up, and harshly marched them to the town center.

Their nation’s leader, Kim Il Sung, stood before them. The heartless dictator walked to the center of the square and drew a line in the dirt, ordering those who wanted to live to deny Christ and cross the line.

Not one stepped forward. Infuriated, Kim Il Sung ordered the group thrown into a mining tunnel with sticks of dynamite.

The last thing the surviving believer remembered was his pastor, consoling and encouraging the group. Realizing he was the lone survivor, he cried, “Why God? Why didn’t you let me die with the others?”

God immediately filled his heart with peace, and he knew that someone must remain and be a witness to their faith. This was the first of many brutal attacks by Kim Il Sung’s form of Communism and worship, called Juche. News of the heroic event spread rapidly among the Christians and is still told today in North Korea.

From The Voice of the Martyrs

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you."

Philippians 1:21-24