Unfaltering Faith

I was recently involved in a play at school inspired by the life of Sophie Scholl. Sophie lived in Germany during World War 2, where she and her brother were involved in a secret group that wrote and distributed pamphlets encouraging others to stand up for their beliefs against the Nazis. The play follows her interrogation after she is caught with a briefcase full of the leaflets. During her interrogation, she asks an important question: “What happens when the laws of man contradict the laws of God? What should a woman who follows God’s laws do?” Her answer to this question is clear by her decisions. She refuses to let human rules lead her to sin against God, much like how Daniel refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol.  

Here in America, we might not face execution for our faith, but believing in God and obeying His commands can cause us to stand out from the world or be disliked. It is all too easy to become distracted by worldly laws or practices that can shift our attention away from God and towards pleasing other people. Paul addresses this in his letter to the Philippians encouraging them to “stand firm in the Lord.” As Christians, we must endure, running the race set out for us, no matter what we face. Paul tells us to stand firm by having a heavenly mindset, thinking not of earthly things but of the things of God, because our citizenship is in heaven. When our focus is heavenward, it is much harder to get distracted by earthly things.  

At the end of the play, Sophie is facing execution for her actions, and yet her faith does not falter; in her last words to her interrogator she says, “When my body falls, my spirit will still soar.” Her confidence in God does not fail, even facing death, because she knows where her true citizenship is found. This trust in God is something all Christians should seek: a confidence that rises above ourselves, one that will not fail through anything we may go through.