April 21, 2012

They Shall Never Perish

Beginning last September, I discovered a terrific site called Bible Gateway. I signed up not only to read sections of the Old and New Testament each day but also to receive a Verse of the Day. Today’s verse was John 10:28-30. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

I thought of that bloody beach in Florida, late 1565, where the French Huguenots knelt and received death for upholding their creed. That verse might very well have been the martyrs’ song. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” No matter what was done to their bodies, their souls could not be touched. God took away the power of sinful man. “The body they may kill, but God’s truth abideth still,” as Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” so powerfully states. 

“No one shall snatch them out of My hand.” The men who killed the Huguenot castaways thought they were depriving their victims of eternal rest, sending their souls on a journey to torment. They left them to be forgotten. But the Lord held His martyrs, and nothing --- not even the most violent slaughter --- could take them away from Him. They were His children. They were His beloved, and their immortal souls were safe from those who wished them harm. The enemy could not corrupt them.

“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all.” No-holds-barred. No catches. No small print. These men who dutifully and beautifully professed the Christian faith were already safe in all the ways that mattered. They could not be torn away from the Father’s hand. Whatever comfort they felt in those last horrific moments must have come from such verses as John 10:28-30 . . . God is more powerful than man. God watches over and succors His children, and even the most violent martyrdom could not wrench those proud French Protestants from His watchful eye.

(c) 2012 Joyously Saved