Holding to the truth...even with a knife to your throat

Read Chuck Colson's latest column about Nien Cheng, a wealthy Chinese Christian who had been thrown into prison. They thought by stripping away her worldly possessions, she would crumble. Instead, she held fast to the TRUTH.

Cheng’s embrace of the truth also allowed her to envision that justice would eventually prevail, and that good could come out of this evil. In this, Cheng was fortified, of course, by her Christian faith. Alone among the world’s great religions, Christianity gives value and meaning to evil and suffering. British novelist Dorothy Sayers captured the essence of this. Christianity, she wrote “affirms . . . that perfection is attained through the active and positive effort to wrench a real good out of a real evil.” This is the essence of what Christians call redemption, and it underscores another truth: We have to understand the evil in ourselves before we can truly embrace the good in life.

In this story, the Christian who held firm to her beliefs was released and survives. Millions of Christians have been slaughtered for their beliefs. Jesus said it would happen that way. I grouse about how Christianity is the one faith that you can insult and mock and still be politically correct, but I'm so thankful that we don't have to endure torture and imprisonment for our beliefs. That said, if we don't fight to protect our constitution, and don't stand up for our beliefs in the public square, the enemies of Christ wouldn't object to driving us under the cover of darkness. Stay vigilant, and stick to the truth!