Tortured for Christ

This week I have been reading the book Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand (if you do not know about Mr. Wurmbrand or have not read this book I would highly encourage you to do so). This book is a true testimony to the type of Christian I described in my last post. He was a Romanian pastor who suffered terrible physical and mental cruelty while in communist prison for 14 years because of his faith. Like the apostles in Acts 5 and the faithful Saints of the early church, he truly rejoiced in his sufferings. He was glad to suffer for his Lord and was willing to preach the Gospel even at the threat of imprisonment, torture, and even death. Here is a glimpse into his passion and heart:

‎"It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners...whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating....so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us-so everyone was happy."

The horrors which he and many others faced (and still do today) while in prison were enough to physically and mentally break any normal man. But Wurmbrand and others realized the truth and reality of the Gospel and what Christ meant to them. They placed all of their strength and hope in Christ. As he said, "If the heart is cleansed by the love of Jesus Christ, one can resist all tortures."

One of the things that shocks me most was his sincere love for his torturers. He had no hatred in his heart against these terrible communists who so horribly and unjustly punished him. But, instead, he had a true passion to see them come to Christ and to preach the Gospel to them. This is a true Christ-like love - An unconditional love which sincerely cared for the souls of these men.

What if we lived like this? What if we loved our enemies? What if we returned persecution with compassion? What if we were willing to give our all for the sake of the Gospel?
Oh, that we would. I pray that I would love like that and have faith enough to proclaim the Gospel no matter the cost.