Receiving Only to Give

“Without cost you have received; 

without cost you are to give.”

Matthew 10:8b

Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Chinese Martyrs

 

Today we remember those who brought the faith to the Chinese people and those who gave up their life for Christ there. These martyrs ranged from as young as 7 or 8 to their elderly years. These people received the gift of faith and their hearts were set ablaze by it. Life can no longer be the same once you have encountered Christ and His love. What but love moved these people to die for their faith?  They did not choose to die. They chose to follow Christ, and wherever that leads them, they will go.

 

Where are we in our discipleship? The Chinese martyrs received the gift of faith and in turn gave their lives up for it. There is a story about one of those martyrs, a little girl, who as she walked to her martyrdom was singing hymns and crying tears of joy. It is in receiving the love of Christ that even as we walk through the difficult moments and seemingly “valleys of the shadow of death” we can do so joyfully and peacefully, confident that God is with us. May we today choose to receive the Father’s love and the gift of faith, and by doing so, allow our lives to be transformed, giving of ourselves in loving service to others.



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