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“If I die, I will be very happy because I will leave an example for other Christians to follow in my wake.”
Kuwa Bashir, a Sudanese youth pastor, was busy studying for the next Bible class when he heard the terrible but not unexpected news. The year was 1987, and the government of Sudan Muslim forces had just captured the area of the Blue Nile in Sudan.
Muslim forces soon arrested Bashir, determined to convert everyone to Islam. Bashir was beaten and tortured for seven days before being released, but he refused to convert. They told him never to organize youth activities or attend church again, but Bashir refused to be intimidated. He knew the Islamic forces were unable to touch his soul.
When he was arrested for the second time, Bashir testified, “I will gladly die without fear like Jesus did on the cross.” He continued to speak to his captors about God, and the officer in charge threatened to have him shot. Instead, they decided to pour acid on Bashir’s hands as a constant reminder of his refusal to convert to Islam.
But Bashir’s faith has remained strong, and today his burned, useless hands have become a living testimony to the youth in the Bonga refugee camp, where he works along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.
The message that the martyrs speak through their dramatic deaths we must share through our everyday lives. We must be a living testimony of the grace of God. We may never join the ranks of the martyrs, dying for our faith in Christ. However, we have daily opportunities to live for him. It has been said that “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” We survive sufferings so that we can live on to tell others about God’s grace. Has your life been scarred by sufferings? Don’t be ashamed. Let your scars be your testimony. Let them tell your story to all who see your unwavering faith.
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