Serving God in a Hostile Environment. The Example of Daniel and His FriendsSample

Serving the true God alone

King Nebuchadnezzar has made an enormous image of gold and has ordered all his officials to come to its dedication. He has also invited a lot of musicians, and when the music starts to play everybody should “fall down and worship”. To make clear that this is a serious matter, the king adds a threat: if somebody does not worship, he will immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. Of course, nobody dares to disobey the king’s command!

But then some people tell the king that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do not worship the golden image. The king is furious, and threatens these men once more that they will be cast into the fiery furnace if they don’t worship the golden image. Their answer is remarkable: “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” They don’t give in to the pressure, because they are committed to serve God instead of an idol. They trust that God can rescue them, but are also prepared to die for their faith if that was God’s will for them.

Hebrews 11 lists other ‘heroes of faith’. Some of them received miraculous power or were rescued in wonderful ways; others were brutally murdered in the hope that they “would rise again to a better life”. Being a ‘hero of faith’ is not about doing supernatural miracles, but about being faithful to death, knowing that our physical death is not the end. Being a ‘hero of faith’ does not always result in spectacular stories here on earth, but it will certainly lead us into God’s joyful presence forever.

These believers did not compromise their faith. Do you?