Be Faithful unto Death, and I Will Give You the Crown of Life

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)

The words quoted above come from Jesus' message to the church in Smyrna. Today in Smyrna, funeral services memorialize the death of Necati Aydin, a man one year younger (36) than I am. Aydin was born in Smyrna a Moslem. In his young adulthood he was born again to Christ. He worked at Zirve Publishing in Turkey distributing materials developed to present the gospel to Moslems—to share with others the same chance for spiritual freedom that he had received. Wednesday five young Moslem men burst into Zirve Publishing, accosted Aydin and two colleagues, bound them hand and foot to chairs, inflicted multiple stab wounds upon their bodies, and then slit their throats. All three died. Like me, God has blessed Aydin with a wife (Semse) and a preschool son and daughter. Today in Smyrna, they mourn the loss of a husband and father, and they look to God to learn what is next for their family. Today I'm praying for the Aydin family. And I'm praying for myself, too—that I would be the kind of man who would sacrifice family, future, and life itself for the cause of Christ. I do not know who delivered the message today, but Necati Aydin has preached his own funeral in the way that he was faithful unto death. I hope they mentioned Revelation 2:10 in the service. See more about the story here.