Jun 3 2019 Hebrews 10: 32-39 – Martyrs of Uganda

But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.



In 1886, 32 young men who worked for King Mwanga, were burned to death for their refusal for denouncing Christianity. Christianity had been introduced to the country less than 10 years earlier. The King was increasingly angry that Christians were more loyal to Christ, than their King. So he banned his subjects from going near the missions. That didn’t work, so he opted to wipe them out, starting with 32 of his own staff.



This is a disturbing story on so many levels. Those early Christians in Uganda put Christ above their ruler. They did this when it was easy to do and the King welcomed the missionaries. They put Christ first when it was a little harder – when the King prohibited them from being Christian. And they put Christ first when it was unimaginably hard – denounce your faith or be burned.



Starting with the levels of hardness, this is a challenging story. How many of us Christians would still be Christians if we didn’t live in a country founded on the freedom from religious persecution?  What if Christianity was harder to practice, or outright prohibited? There would definitely be fewer. And what if professing our faith would result in death to us and our household? I’m grateful I don’t live in a place where this is a real threat. But I’m convicted, thinking about what I’d do if I did.



More interesting to me is the idea of putting Christ above all else. These men were martyred because they put Christ above their king. Even in my day to day, do I do that? Do I make a conscious choice to pledge allegiance to Christ, in every situation, above every other thing that rules my life? I try, but it’s not as intentional as it could be.



This morning, I’m thinking about what that would look like to put Christ above all things. If we have political leaders claiming this is a ‘Christian nation’, wouldn’t that be an oxymoron? Wouldn’t we, like the martyrs, be placing Christ above the very leaders who used the phrase? What if we really did that? What if we really were a Christian nation?



And personally, what if I put Christ above all else?  Loving Christ, serving Christ. Today, I want to watch for the places in my world where something else has the top spot, and see if I can take a step towards realigning those priorities.