Unashamed

By: Unknown

I'll never forget the first time I saw my father arrested. I remember the crash of
the door and light from outside pouring in with the police. The other people in
the room were screaming. The police shouted as they waved their guns around
the room. Instinctively, my mother pulled me out a side door before they saw us.
She was shaking all over, and visibly scared. She had done her best to shelter me
from the government's oppression, but in a country like Somalia, you can't hide
forever. As we watched my father being loaded into a van, I asked my mother
why they were taking him away. Her response frightened me. "Because he
believes in Jesus."

Even at age seven, Jesus was the center of my life. I knew Jesus loved me. I
believed he died for my sins and had sent angels to protect me. Until that
morning in church, I never had the slightest doubt about him. But how could
Jesus allow anyone to hurt dad? Were there no angels for him? Had he done
something wrong?

To my father, being arrested was nothing less than a blessing. Dad loved he
contact with other prisoners and guards. It gave him joy to share Christ with
them. None of this mattered to me. My father belonged home, and I begged him
to take us home.

It took a long time for me to understand. My father was arrested five times!
Every time, he returned home beaten and withered, usually sick. But what
caught my attention was that he never came home weary. Prison lit a fire in him
that grew with every trip. He brought home exciting stories of men he led to
Jesus Christ-- men who would never have heard the gospel unless God allowed
him to go to prison.

My father's passion for sharing Christ began to burn inside of me. One night
when I was fifteen, he came to my bedside with his Bible open to 2 Timothy. "Do
not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But
join with me in suffering for the gospel." [2 Tim. 1:8] "You live in a world that
hates God," he told me. "And it will hate you for loving him. But you must never
give in. The world needs Jesus, and you must never stop proclaiming his
name...even if it means death."

With that challenge, my father passed his torch on to me. The following day, my
father was arrested again. We were never told whether he was shipped away or
executed. Only that this time, he would not be coming back.
I knew a day would come when I would be given the choice to stand for or hide
from my faith in Christ. I loved God, but I was scared of the government that
stole my father and what they might do to me. Then I realized, that was exactly
what the government wanted. They shut my father up in prison to keep him
from sharing the gospel and discourage me from doing the same. Nothing made
them happier than to see me hide my faith in fear. Which is why I didn't stop to
think when my chance to stand came.

Two years after my father disappeared, I led a public prayer vigil. We fully
expected the police to break us up immediately, but to our surprise, the first
people rushing to the scene were other believers. Christians from our town and
others felt empowered to stand up for Christ. Non-believers hungry for hope
accepted the grace of Jesus. For three days, we stood fast on our knees in prayer
for our families, our nation, and our government, even as they rolled toward us
with tear gas and live ammunition. A dozen people died that day. Hundreds were
arrested. And as one of the leaders, I was sentenced to die.

I do not regret being a missionary's son in Somalia. I was blessed with the
opportunity to stand for Christ in a country where the gospel is desperately
needed. What makes me sad, is that on the other side of the world, people have
the freedom to worship God openly... and they do nothing about it.

I know all about your lack of courage. We were told all about how you in America
simply don't exercise your right to worship God. Help me understand how
people with unlimited access to their Creator neglect him like you do? My
country built a wall between me and my God while you have the right to worship
him in total freedom! What wall is holding you back?

Is it them? Are you afraid of what they're going to think? Are you afraid to be
called a nerd? They're the ones who need you to stand up the most! Maybe
you're not ready for the pressure of living up to the title of Christian. Do you hide
it because you're not ready to live it? Are you afraid to surrender your whole life
to him?