A heavy weight of conviction rests on my heart with a lot of questions running through my head and mind. How did she let go of her family, her status and most of all her child? How was a woman barely older than I am able to stand her ground and choose to die willingly? These questions gnawed at my mind as I watched the animated version of St Perpetua earlier today. She was a young woman of 22years, well educated and from a noble pagan home who decided to tow the part of her mother by becoming a Christian in 203A.D. She and her fellow christians were rounded up one night during fellowship and imprisoned. Her father was filled with rage as he threatened to deal with the slaves whom he thought had deceived his daughter. He took away her child which was eventually given back to her in prison, you cannot begin to imagine the state of the Roman prisons then.
Alongside her were a couple of which the wife was heavily pregnant, 8months precisely and two other brothers, one was killed on the night of the arrest. Perpetua's father begged and tried to persuade her to renounce her christian faith for the sake of the family and especially her baby but she refused. She later had a dream in which she climbed a ladder while dodging a fiery serpent to meet the Lord Jesus who gave her a cup to drink and taste of 'sweeter things to come'. I for one assumed they would be released as I watched on but to my utmost surprise she awakened with a glowing and radiant face to tell her companions that they would suffer martyrdom. At some point, while her father begged her to reconsider, she pointed to a vase and said, "Father, what is that?" "A vase" he replied. "Can it be called any other thing?" "No", he replied again. With so much boldness she stated, "So can I not be called any other thing but a christian!" He eventually drags her child away from her telling her she has killed her family by doing this, unknown to him his younger son has become a christian too. Two days before the games as it was in those days, the pregnant women, Felicity, gives birth and a guard who is already being converted helps them arrange a farewell meeting with their christian brothers and sisters and the baby is handed over to one of the sisters. Earlier they'd been asked to publicly offer incense to the gods of that time but they refused and were sentenced to die.
On the day of their martyrdom, they're flogged and thrown to wild beasts and then beheaded.
The writer, a prison guard who had earlier helped arrange their farewell meeting and to whom Perpetual had handed over her journal to continue recounts that he heard them thanking Jesus for suffering for his name. At a point, just before she is beheaded, Perpetua asks the guards to stop shouting "Wait! I cannot go to my Lord looking like a grieving woman!" and she readjusts her hair as a beautiful radiance comes over.
I'm still asking myself as I write this, if I can do the same for Jesus whom I claim to so dearly love. How much am I willing to suffer for him? How much shame and pain am I willing to go through for his name's sake. Its amazing how we're able to so beautifully worship and dance to Him until troubles come and we threaten to tear our bibles! Sometimes, a self appraisal is necessary. How much are you willing to suffer? Can you be called any other thing than christian? How many in a sense of adoration pray, "That I may know you oh God, the power of your resurrection..." but seem to forget the 'fellowship of your suffering' part? Perhaps we need to go back to the books and set aside this facade of religion, of just claiming the title of Christianity to satisfy our morality;perhaps we need to ask for not only blessings and goodies but for the grace to suffer persecution for his name's sake if and when it comes that we may be truly blessed.
This story has served as an eye opener to me, I hope it does the same for you too.
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