Being a Kamikaze Christian

What strikes more fear into the enemy’s heart than anything else?  An opponent who cares not at all for his own life.  The Japanese became famous for their pilots who would sacrifice themselves and their planes to sink our ships.  Their armies were nearly unstoppable because their ranks preferred to die rather than be captured.  Even today we see the Muslim extremists holding up suicide attacks as the most honorable way to exterminate infidels.  Their goal is to not succeed in numbers but to succeed in intimidation and fear.

These are horrific examples of misguided zeal, but what if Christians had a fraction of this type of fervor for their cause?  After all, we don’t just have a cause, we have a King.  We are his subjects.  We have a Father, and we are his children.  We have a Friend, and he calls us friends.  He has conquered death.   We are not called to violence, but to stand in the face of it, with no thought for ourselves.

When we are baptized, we agree that we are partaking of Christ’s death – becoming one with Him in death, and subsequently raised to New Life.  What if we really believed that, in its full reality?  What damage could we wreak on the enemy’s camp if we knew as far as this world is concerned, we are already dead?  What can you do to intimidate a dead man?  But most of us are not very dead.  Our flesh is alive and well, and its fear often reigns in our choices and priorities, even without our awareness.  It’s a way of life for us, to let fear run the show.  We think this way of life is normal, so we don’t even recognize the problem.

But the word of God is full of stories of Kamikaze believers.  Because they didn’t care at all what the outcome of their obedience was, they were willing to do anything.  They became living sacrifices for the One who had given His everything for them.  I think of Stephen’s last sermon before the rocks started flying.  His impending death did not dampen his boldness to speak the truth.  A simple trusting follower of Christ proclaimed His truth with such fervor that over 2000 years later, we can still read the words he spoke that day.  How many people did his life touch through this last act?  He did not succeed in changing the minds of those who were determined to kill him, but his witness has stood for two millennia.

What does God want you to do for Him, and what is stopping you?  What He has called you to do, He can perform through you.  What could you do, who could you affect, if you realized you had died already, and your life was no longer your own?

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