I was thinking about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. I’ve written about their faith before in “Simple Yet Profound – The Fiery Furnace,” and I’ve recently wondered again if I would have been so confident.
We all like to think we’d have faith as strong as an oak when threatened with certain death for the cause of Christ, but then we shrink away from the idea that we might be inconvenienced or lose a friend or two if we talk “too much” about Jesus in regular daily life. Even for those who aren’t so swayed by the opinions of others, there’s always something that causes us to pull up short and hesitate a moment. When it comes right down to it, would I walk right into a fire for God? It’s not likely that I’d survive the encounter like the three friends in Daniel 3, and they didn’t know they’d survive either. Would I walk into the fire, real or metaphorical, knowing that whatever came of it that I would be fine? Or would I run and hide, downplaying my belief in Jesus because I’m too afraid?
That’s a good question for us to honestly ask ourselves from time to time. When we’re in the frying pan about to be thrown into the fire, how will we handle it?