A Coptic Christian in Libya Died Rather Than Deny Jesus. What Does His Story Teach Us?

By Dr. Layne McDonald

His story teaches us that Jesus is worth more than life itself. A young man was held, hurt, and pressed to turn away from Christ. He would not. He died holding to his faith. His story asks each of us a quiet question. What is Jesus worth to me?

What happened

According to relatives and reports this week, a young Egyptian Coptic Christian died in Libya after armed kidnappers held him and hurt him badly. They pressed him to turn away from his faith in Jesus and convert to Islam. He refused to deny Christ. He died holding to his faith.

We do not know everything about his last hours. We do not need to. We know the part that matters most. When the pressure came, he stayed true to Jesus.

His family now grieves a son and a brother. His church family around the world grieves with them, and we honor the stand he took.

What does the Bible say?

Jesus spoke to a church under pressure in Revelation 2:10. He said, "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown." Our brother in Libya was faithful to the point of death. We believe he has received that crown, and that he is with the Lord he would not deny.

In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus said that whoever acknowledges Him before others, He will also acknowledge before His Father in heaven. This young man acknowledged Jesus before men who wanted him silent. We trust that Jesus now speaks his name before the Father.

Second Timothy 3:12 tells us simply that everyone who wants to live a godly life will face pressure. That is true in small ways for all of us, and it was true in the heaviest way for him. The verse is not meant to scare us. It is meant to brace us, so we decide ahead of time where we stand.

How does a Christian go about this?

Most of us will never face what he faced. But all of us face smaller moments where it costs something to stand with Jesus. His story helps us get ready.

Put it into practice

• Decide now, in the quiet, that Jesus is worth any cost. Do not wait for a hard moment to make up your mind.

• Pray for his family by name in your heart, and for Christians in Libya and Egypt who live with this risk.

• Hold your own faith with fresh gratitude. If you can worship freely today, do not take it lightly.

• Teach your children that faith can be costly, and that Jesus is still good and still worth it.

• When a small moment comes to speak of Jesus and it feels awkward, remember this brother, and speak gently and bravely.

Carry this with you

We do not have to be heroes. We only have to be faithful. One young man in Libya showed the whole world what that looks like, and his witness will preach longer than his life did. May we be found just as steady, in whatever measure of pressure comes to us.

Questions people ask

Did he have to die for his faith to count?

His faith counted because it was real, not because of how his story ended. God honors every act of trust, seen or unseen. His death simply showed the whole world the depth of a faith that was already precious to God.

How should I talk to my kids about a story like this?

Keep it simple and gentle. Tell them a man loved Jesus so much that he would not say he did not. Tell them Jesus loved him back and welcomed him home. Skip the hard details, and let the courage and the love carry the story.

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