4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me."
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. " (1 Samuel 31, NIV)
What do we make of this? I shared the entire chapter because it's just entirely devastating. Clearly, by putting their "trophies" in their false-god temples, they were God's enemies. I can't help but think of David's words about Saul being "God's anointed". I also can't help but think of the early Christians who were martyred in the most violent ways ever conceived. "There is pain in the offering, Blessed Be Your Name".
It's difficult to find any statistics of martyrdom for all religions or even accurate information for any one religion, for a variety of reasons. This is the best I could find after multiple searches.
Christian life is not always easy and never was. I find one of the most troubling myths of today is that North American Christians aren't persecuted. Satan, the thief and deceiver, is far more clever than those who believe the myth. Yes, Canada and the United States claim freedom of religion, as long as you're not a Christian. I mean, sure there's laws in place, but they're not upheld. We can go to church, and it's not illegal, but try to stand on your Christian values and people go from apathetic to hostile. Apparently there's some who believe that the Bible is hate speech and it's starting to take hold in our political theater. The days of freedom of religion are running out of time. Add to that the number of people who are rejected or even tormented for their faith to the point of ending their life. Our nations don't kill Christians, they just drive the to suicide. There's no martyr's glory in suicide. Even Christians will condemn the suicidal. :(
So how do we respond? LOVE is the only way! God loves every single person that He's made. There is no exception. How many times does the Bible command that we love one another? Maybe there's a reason that we're reminded over 100 times. Does your family know that you love them? That you'd do anything for them? What about your friends? Your neighbours? What about your enemies? "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (Matthew 5:44, ESV)
If there's anything wrong with you at all, let it be that you love too generously. But, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9, NKJV) You are no good to anyone, including God, if you don't take care of your own needs, too.
I happen to be blessed by at least a couple of people in my life who so easily seem to love everyone unconditionally. They are a joy and a delight. Let's strive to be like that! <3 It will take some help from the King, so be sure to ask Him. :)