The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

by Nik Ripken

Jesus is better than all the pleasures, possessions, and pursuits of this world put together.

God’s reward is far greater than anything this world could ever offer you.

Serving God is not a matter of location, but a matter of obedience.”

Those of us who have grown comfortable with the teachings of Christ have allowed His teachings to lose their edge. So much of what Jesus taught makes no sense from a human perspective.

Ruth and I were captive to the conviction that, if Jesus is not the answer to the human condition, there is no answer.

You just have to go. You just have to go. Even if there is no clarity about your return, you just have to go.

God, evidently, was doing today everything that He had done in the Bible!

God is indeed still present in this broken world. He is working. He is doing what He has always done.

Two thoughts stayed in my mind: this is what God did then and this is what God does now. Suddenly, my modern world didn’t look all that different than the world of the Bible.

‘Is Jesus worth it? Is He worth your life? Is He worth the lives of your wife and your children?’”

I realized that he was willing to endure great suffering for his faith for two reasons. First, he understood the nature of persecution and the intent of his persecutors. Second, he knew the One for whom he was suffering. This man not only knew Jesus—he was also convinced that Jesus was worth whatever his faith might cost him.

Today, I realize that God allowed us to go out into the world so we could find out who Jesus was from people who really knew Him and actually lived the Word of God.

Ruth and I have seldom encountered a mature believer living in persecution who asked us to pray that their persecution would cease. We have never heard that request. Rather, believers in persecution ask us to pray that “they would be faithful and obedient through their persecution and suffering.”

This is one of the most important lessons that we learned from believers in persecution: They (and you and I) are just as free to share Jesus today in Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Communist countries as you and I are in America. It isn’t a matter of political freedom. It is simply a matter of obedience. The price for obedience might be different in different places—but it is always possible to obey Christ’s call to make disciples. Every believer—in every place—is always free to make that choice.

before we can grasp the full meaning of the Resurrection, we first have to witness or experience crucifixion. If we spend our lives so afraid of suffering, so averse to sacrifice, that we avoid even the risk of persecution or crucifixion, then we might never discover the true wonder, joy and power of a resurrection faith. Ironically, avoiding suffering could be the very thing that prevents us from partnering deeply with the Risen Jesus.

At the beginning of every day, we choose. It is simply a matter of identification. Will we identify with believers in persecution—or will we identify with their persecutors? We make that choice as we decide whether we will share Jesus with others or keep Him to ourselves.

Ultimately, the problem is one of emphasis and focus. Instead of recognizing, thinking about, remembering, praying about, identifying with and focusing on the suffering of fellow believers around the world, we would do well to shift our focus. Quite simply, we would do well to ask ourselves whether or not we are being obedient to Jesus. He is asking us—He is expecting us—He is commanding us to share Him wherever we go. He is commanding us to do that wherever we are today.

It is simply a matter of obedience. If He is our Lord, then we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord.