Matthew 5:16 (NIV)
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that
they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Great love for Christ is one of the quickest ways to
ascend to a mastery of life. One such master is Bishop Victor Belikh, a
Ukranian Christian from Kishinev. He had spent twenty-four years in Communist
jails. The first twenty he passed in solitary confinement without ever knowing
anything about his family and friends. He was allowed no family visits and no
correspondence.
Every evening a straw mattress was put in the cell for
him to sleep on for seven hours. In the morning it was taken away. The rest of
the time he was not allowed to lie down even on the cold concrete, nor was he
allowed to sit or stand still on it. For seventeen hours a day he had to walk
around his cell uninterruptedly, as horses do in a circus. He was surveyed by
jailers through the peephole in the cell door. If he stopped or broke down,
they threw buckets of water on him or beat him and he was forced to continue.
After twenty years of such a regime, he was sent for another four years to
forced labor in northern Siberia, where the ice never melts.
He was asked, "How could you bear this suffering
after the years in solitary confinement and a starvation diet?" He replied
by singing a song he composed: "With the flames of love's fire that Jesus
kindled in my heart, I caused the ice of Siberia to melt. Hallelujah!" His
face shone. The Bible writes that the face of Stephen, first martyr of
Christianity, shone when he was sentenced to death.
God has given us each the possibility is given to each of
us to become such conquerors of life. This is not only the grace of God but
also assiduous work on your own character. It is as if at birth we are given a
block of marble, a hammer, a chisel, and are told, "You can hew out of
this the image of an emperor." Jesus does not wish to be the only most
holy Person, but the first among many brothers and sisters of the same kind. We
are all called to be holy.
Men put into Belikh's situation are rare, but many men in
deportation, in labor camps, in places devastated by war and revolution, even
many poor in rich countries, have no shelter from the cold. But there is
another kind of cold. It is often icy cold in well-to-do homes. Love has grown
cold. There is no longer a smile or pleasant gesture for those who were once
loved. Spouses, parents, children, friends have become alienated from each
other.
In Jesus' time there was no electricity. The smallest
light had to be kept burning. There were not even matches to kindle a fire. One
had to be very thrifty. Jesus says about himself that "He will not quench
a smoking flax." If everyone around you is icy, don't despair.
Ice can be made to melt if the fire of Jesus' love burns in your heart.
Dear Lord, help us be the light and fire that the world
needs. Help Your fire burn brightly in
us today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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