Standing for Christ

During the Korean War Christian preachers were targeted by the
Communists. In such a tense situation a group of 40 Communists
kidnapped a preacher,his wife and two children. They took them to the
outskirts of the city.

They attempted to force the preacher to deny Christ and swear that he
will no longer preach that Christ is Lord. But the preacher refused.
They threatened him saying that they would bury him, his wife and
children alive. But the preacher did not budge. As if to prove that
they were serious, they started digging a hole right in front of
them. But they could not get a word out of him. This aroused their
anger and they placed this family in the hole and began playing on
his emotions.

" Because of your stubbornness your innocent children are going to
die in right in front of your own eyes. Deny Christ and we shall
leave you ". But the preacher did not relent. Finally they started
filling up the hole. Still the preacher remained unmoved. The hole
was filled up gradually until the children were about to be covered.
The preacher started shaking. He was torn between emotions. The
cries of his little children moved him. But realizing this the
preacher's wife told him, "Within a little while we shall all be
with our Lord forever.. Be bold and do not give up." These words
encouraged him and he did not relent. As a result all of them were
buried alive.

The news of this tragedy shocked many. The Christians of South Korea
were shaken. " Why did God allow this to happen ?. The preacher
preached about Christ . He was killed. What wrong did
his wife and children do ?" These were the questions that rent the
air. The remaining preachers found it difficult to answer these
questions.

Years rolled by. There was the time of the great revival in South
Korea. This was the time when the
renowned preacher Paul Yongi Cho was the pastor of the biggest
congregation in the world. One day during a service a man rose up and
told the surprised audience that he was one among the 40 persons who
buried the preacher and his family and he proceeded to share the
details of the sad incident. He said that he was moved by the courage
and conviction of the preacher who did not deny Christ even at the
point of death. He had wanted to know who that Jesus was and in the
process he had been convicted and had accepted Christ as his Savior.
Moreover all the 40 involved in that incident had at some point in
their lives been saved and were members of Paul Yongi Cho's church.

It took many years to understand why God had permitted that incident.
God had used the death of those 4 people save 40 more.

--- Martyrs of Christ are never buried.. they are sown....

From: timothy williams <x4uu4x@yahoo.com>