Counting the Cost
by LewisPutting a bounty on the capture or destruction of an outlaw is an age-old practice. You can read about it in the Bible, and if you’ve ever seen a “western” movie, you’ve seen wanted posters with pictures of bad guys to be brought in and dollars to be paid.
You probably also know about the bounty for Osama Bin Laden, currently “up to $25 million for information leading directly to” his apprehension or conviction, but you probably don’t know there is an even higher bounty for a much 
more outrageous middle-eastern cleric.
This one is not offered by the federal government of the United States, it is offered by radical Islamists, and it is for the death of a Christian.
The target is Father Zakaria Botros, an Egyptian who has been exiled for preaching Jesus over the air waves. It is estimated that he is watched by 50 million Muslims each time he is on the air via satellite, and he is on the air almost every day.
Some believe that he is at the top of the Jihadist’s most wanted list, and the price on his head is reported to be $60 million. He says he is not afraid to die, because he knows Jesus Christ, and he cannot and will not stop preaching, because the Muslims need to hear the gospel message. Being a disciple of Jesus well may cost this brother his life, but it doesn’t matter—he’s already given his life to Jesus.
When we count the cost of discipleship, is our math as simple as that?
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:29 pm
My youngest sister is fond of saying that kids who are given plenty of love as they grow up do fine as adults. (Oh, I sure hope so!) Last night, my teenage daughter was working on her assignment to write a one-paragraph answer to the opposite question, “Why do people hate each other?” (In one paragraph?!?) She probably should have just quoted the lyrics to the song about racism, “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHKzn8aHyXg)
People who are hated as children often redeploy that hate in all sorts of ways, of which assigning jihad on a man who bears a message of love is only one. In the 1980′s classic movie, “The Breakfast Club,” the character Bender dramatizes how his father abuses him verbally and physically. It’s a very hard scene to watch, but none of what he demonstrates comes as a surprise to the viewer. We already know what his home life is like because we’ve seen the messy outpouring of his anger on people and his physical environment.
In the face of that kind of escalating frustration, you want to run and hide. But would Jesus do that? Neither does Father Zakaria, apparently, as he continues to share good news with whoever will listen.