Profiles in Christian Courage: Mark C.

“The Prussian King Frederick the Great was widely known as an agnostic. By contrast, General Von Zealand, one of his most trusted officers, was a devout Christian. Thus it was that during a festive gathering the king began making crude jokes about Christ until everyone was rocking with laughter–all but Von Zealand, that is.

“Finally, Von Zealand arose and addressed the king: ‘Sire, you know I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sire, as an old man who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity.’

“The place went silent, and with a trembling voice the king replied, ‘General Von Zealand–I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!’ And with that the party quietly ended.”1

According to the dictionary, courage is the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” It is doing what is right despite the likelihood of adverse consequences.

The Bible is filled with examples of men and women who demonstrated courage for their faith. Rahab hid two spies and helped them escape. Daniel and friends went willingly into the lion’s den and fiery furnace. Peter shared the gospel before the Sanhedrin, the same group that had Christ crucified. And the Apostle Paul was nearly stoned to death in Lystra for his faith.

But courage isn’t reserved for biblical characters alone. Throughout the centuries countless believers have shown courage in the face of “danger, fear, or difficulty.”  In this series we’ll take a look at some famous and not-so-famous people who are examples of Profiles in Christian Courage.

My friend Mark C. is a missionary in a nation formerly under communist control. Religion of any kind was prohibited, and Christians in particular were being persecuted. It was illegal to bring Bibles into the country subject to arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, expulsion, and banishment. Consequently, most people didn’t have a Bible, but considered themselves fortunate to possess a single page of Scripture.

Mark wasn’t deterred by this prohibition on importing Bibles. Following a brief trip to the United States, Mark returned to the communist nation with a suitcase filled to the brim with Bibles.

Prior to his return trip, Mark asked his many friends and supporters to be praying that the Bibles would somehow safely make it through Customs. This thought gave Mark confidence as he approached the customs station.

As the official examined his papers, Mark knew that the secret police were watching the interaction closely. Every customs station was under the watchful eye of the secret police to ensure that contraband wouldn’t enter the country through bribery or other illicit means.

As the official opened the suitcase, Mark prayed silently, along with unseen others in the States. As the lid was raised, the customs official could hardly have missed the suitcase’s contents. The official looked down, physically manipulated the Bibles, closed the lid, and stamped the official paper allowing Mark and the suitcase to enter the country.

In His Sovereignty, God could’ve chosen to allow the official to see the Bibles and arrest Mark for knowingly importing contraband. Undoubtedly, Mark would’ve been interrogated and imprisoned. The U.S. Embassy would’ve intervened leading to Mark’s release and expulsion from the country. Most likely, Mark would’ve been banned from ever again entering that country, along with other Communist bloc nations. Years of preparation, language study, and field experience would’ve gone down the drain in an instant.

But God chose to keep the customs official – and secret police – from seeing what was in plain sight right before their eyes. As a result, many believers in that nation have Bibles today to read and revere.

Mark had no way of knowing in advance how things would turn out. What he did know was that people in that nation didn’t have Bibles and he was in a position to provide them. Mark did what he could – what he knew was right in God’s eyes – despite the danger to himself. Mark C’s story qualifies as a Profile in Christian Courage.

1 Today In The Word, August, 1989, p. 7 found at http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/c/courage.htm