«Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You»(Psalm 63:3).
Life is considered to be the main asset of humans— treasure which needs to be kept and defended. «All that a man has he will give for his life» (Job 2:4), Satan told God regarding Job. He insinuated that Job’s integrity would be damaged if his life were at stake. But Job did not give in despite being afflicted by a terrible illness. And since then, an echo resonates throughout the ages declaring that there is something better than life itself.
Jerry Moon from Andrews University affirms in his article «Modern Martyrs: Faith at Any Cost,» published in the University Dialogue magazine that around 40 million people have given their life for being a Christian. He recalls the story of Mr. Wong which was narrated by Stanley Maxwell in The Man Who Couldn’t Be Killed. This middle-aged man was accused of being a counter-revolutionary for sharing his faith in Christ during the peak of the Cultural Revolution in communist China. Mr. Wong endured mockeries and beating during the twenty-year sentence he carried in a forced-labor camp. At some point, after seventeen days of torture, Wong exclaimed with bloody lips: «You don’t understand! My answer is ‘No!’ Even if President Mao were here to ask me to give up my God and deny Him, I would continue saying ‘No!’ I can’t reject my friend Jesus!» After this declaration, the chief executioner took him by his arms that were tied behind his back, lifted them above Wong’s head and «lowered them upfront to his waist, tearing the tendons of his shoulders and breaking both his arms» (p. 5).
What does a Christian value more than life? What can be better and more important than life? It is not the promise of future rewards or the avoidance of eternal punishment that leads to underestimating, under certain circumstances, life itself. On the contrary, life is valued as every Christian’s precious asset. However, when it comes to comparing it to our relationship with Christ, life itself loses its value. In this relationship, the Lord displays all His kindness, love and mercy.Have you experienced a deep and sincere friendship with Jesus Christ? Keep the following in mind:
«Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.»