the other 98%

Hebrews 11:35b But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free.

They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.

36 Some were jeered at,
    and their backs were cut open with whips.
    Others were chained in prisons.
    37 Some died by stoning,
    some were sawed in half,
    and others were killed with the sword.
    Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats,
        destitute and oppressed and mistreated.

38 They were too good for this world,
     wandering over deserts and mountains,
     hiding in caves and holes in the ground.


Erwin McManus, in his boo, "The Barbarian Way," points out something important, I believe.

All through the 34 verses that precede these verses I've quoted, the writer of Hebrews talked about the "big dogs" of the faith.

But they were the exceptions of those who lived a life of faith.

McManus says that those described in these quoted verses are more closely describing what many people endured because of their faith.


We all hold up those who were towers of strength in their faith.

But the truth is, nowadays, most of us rock along,
   not engaging in the glamorous lives of the glitterati of the faith,
   we simply believe,
   endure the crap people & the devil throw at us,
   hold fast to the truth that God' in charge,
   He's gonna take care of us one way or another,
   & that the worst that could happen is that we could die & go & be with Him.