Daniel's Three Buddies
September 26, 2024 6:12 PM
Standing as a Christ-follower will not be easy. On your job or at your school, you may feel out-numbered and alone. People may avoid you, or they may accuse you of being weak, needing the crutch of religion, or of being intolerant. Whether you are a scientist, an educator, business owner, laborer, or parent, standing firm in your convictions can feel like you are swimming against the current. None of us like this kind of rejection, but Jesus warned us that the world would reject us if we stood with Him.
We can receive encouragement from the Bible’s account of three young friends of Daniel. About six centuries before Jesus was born, they faced the pressure to conform under penalty of death. Though Jews, they had been captured during an earlier battle and deported to Babylon. In time, the king of Babylon erected a huge statue and ordered his subjects to bow down and worship it. To ensure compliance, the king declared that anyone who wouldn’t bow down would be thrown into a furnace. These three young men refused to bow down. Enraged at their defiance the king gave them one more chance to bow down. If they continued to refuse, he’d keep his word to have them thrown into the furnace.
The three were not intimidated. They said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.” They told him that God could save them from the fires. But even if He chose not to, they would never bow down and serve his gods. As you’d expect, they remained standing again. And sure enough, the king ordered them bound and thrown into the hot furnace.
This smug king expected to watch their bodies writhing in pain. Instead, he saw all three unbound and walking around in the flames. To his consternation, the king also saw a fourth man with them. This was either the pre-incarnate Christ or one of His angels. When the king called them to come out of the fire, only the three did. Their clothes were not burned nor did they even smell like smoke. As a result, the king immediately wrote a decree that the God of these Jewish men, the true God, should be honored throughout his realm.
As you stand for Christ, He stands with you to strengthen you. Don’t be intimidated or defensive. We are not to be obnoxious or arrogant as a representative for Christ. Paul wrote to his friend in 2 Timothy 2:24-25, “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.” The Lord will help us to be gracious. Peter addressed us when he told us to bear witness to Christ in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
As you remain standing for Jesus, like these three men, you have no idea who might be influenced by your faithfulness.