Polycarp

To many of you today the name Polycarp probably doesn't mean anything, but to me, he is a hero. Polycarp lived from 70 A.D. to 155 A.D. He was a disciple of John the Apostle and became bishop of the church in Smyrna. In his lifetime he contributed so much to the church. He took on heresies that were entering the church and reminded the church of financial integrity when some leaders were being dishonest with funds. In his 86 years of life he was faithful unto his King, even in death. You see, Polycarp did not die quietly of old age, but at the age of 86 suffered death at the hands of the Roman Empire. He was brought before Caeser and commanded to declare Caeser to be king and offer incense to his statue. Polycarp responded, "for 86 years my King has never wronged me, how can I Him." At that the Roman soldiers tied him to a wooden post and burned him alive. Polycarp died that day simply because he believed in Christ and would not deny Him. If your faith stood that kind of trial today, how would you and I respond? Could we look our persecutor in the eyes and hold firm to our faith in Christ? Would we be able to endure the heat of flames overtaking our bodies? We may never face that kind of trial, but each of us has had our faith tested. We are so easy to complain about our trails and question God. I believe that it is time for the American church to grow up and connect to God in a real way. It is time to have real faith. The kind of faith that can stand up and not deny or question or complain about our trails. Chew on that for a while and have a great day. God bless