No Retreat: Hold Back Nothing
Was she truly ready for everything to change? Chomden* was on the verge of making the most important decision of her young life. There was much to lose—and much to gain. She needed to be certain.
Chomden had been curious about Christianity and had eagerly attended Joy’s classes. What she heard was so new and different. She had a lot of questions. As Joy patiently answered each one, and as Chomden read the Bible for herself, the young girl felt new hope. It called her to leave her hopelessness behind. She wanted to say yes; did she have the courage?
No one in her family or circle of friends was a Christian. Publicly declaring her new faith would bring much risk.
“There is such opposition to the spread of the gospel,” Joy explains. “When people decide to follow Christ, they’re risking rejection, their family, and possibly their lives.”
When people in this sensitive country decide to follow Christ, they’re risking rejection, their family, and possibly their lives.
Chomden was very worried about how her family would react. But she knew that what she had found in Christ was different than what she had before… better. She wanted that. She was certain. She said yes.
In spite of bracing herself for the possible consequences, she wasn’t fully prepared for what a dear friend said next: “On behalf of our people, I disown you. You are no longer Buddhist, so you are no longer Bamar.”
Chomden was crushed; her friend had been like a big brother to her. Yet even his rejection and her sorrow would not shake her commitment to Jesus. She would hold back nothing of her heart, her heritage, or her life as she followed Jesus.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. Several years later, when God’s work was complete in this young man’s life and he opened his own heart to accept Christ, Chomden burst into tears of joy. “If he can become a Christian, God can save anyone!” Chomden exclaimed. Renewed faith and hope burst forth in her heart. What had been sodevastating to her became the way God demonstrated to her that He offers hope to those who turn to Him.
*Name has been changed.
This country ranks 18th on the list of those where Christian’s suffer the greatest persecution.