So, with what would be her last words, she calmly
answers "yes, I
believe in God."
What makes this story remarkable is that the gunman
was no communist
thug, nor was the martyr a Chinese pastor. As you may
have guessed,
the event I'm describing took place last Tuesday in
Littleton,
Colorado.
As the Washington Post reported, the two students who
shot 13 people,
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, did not choose their
victims at
random--they were acting out of a kalideoscope of ugly
prejudices.
Media coverage has centered on the killers' hostility
toward racial
minorities and athletes, but there was another group
the pair hated
every bit as
much, if not more: Christians. And, there were plenty
of them to hate
at Columbine High School. According to some accounts
eight
Christians--four Evangelicals and four Catholics--were
killed.
Among them was Cassie Bernall. And it was Cassie who
made the dramatic
decision I've just described--fitting for a person
whose favorite movie
was "Braveheart," in which the hero dies a martyr's
death.
Cassie was a 17-year-old junior with long blond hair,
hair she wanted
to cut off and have made into wigs for cancer patients
who had lost
their hair through chemotherapy. She was active in
her youth group at
Westpool's Community Church and was known for carrying
a Bible to
school.
Cassie was in the school library reading her Bible
when the two young
killers burst in. According to witnesses, one of the
killers pointed
his gun at Cassie and asked, do you believe in God?"
Cassie paused and
then answered, "Yes, I believe in God." "Why?" the
gunman asked.
Cassie did not have a chance to respond; the gunman
had already shot
her dead.
As her classmate Mickie Cain told Larry King on CNN,
"She completely
stood up for God. When the killers asked her if there
was anyone who
had faith in Christ, she spoke up and they shot her
for it."
Cassie's martyrdom was even more remarkable when you
consider that just
a few years ago she had dabbled in the occult,
including witchcraft.
She had embraced the same darkness and nihilism that
drove her killers
to such despicable acts. But two years ago, Cassie
dedicated her life
to Christ, and turned her life around. Her friend,
Craig Moon, called
her a "light for Christ."
Well, this "light for Christ" became a rare American
martyr of the 20th
Century.
According to the Boston Globe, on the night of her
death, Cassie's
brother Chris found a poem Cassie had written just two
days prior to
her death. It read:
"Now I have given up on everything else
I have found it to be the only way
To really know Christ and to experience
The mighty power that brought
Him back to life again, and to find
Out what it means to suffer and to
Die with him. So, whatever it takes
I will be one who lives in the fresh
Newness of life of those who are
Alive from the dead."
The best way all of us can honor Cassie's memory is To
embrace that
same courageous commitment to our faith. For example,
we should stand
up to our kids when they want to play violent video
games. We should
be willing to stand up to community ridicule when we
oppose access to
Internet pornography at the local library.
For the families of these young martyrs, I can only
offer deep personal
sympathy and the hope that they might take strength
from the words
Jesus spoke to the woman who honored Him by pouring
ointment on His
head. "Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole
world, what she
has done will be told in memory of her" (Matthew 26:13).
"Well done, good and faithful servant. Now enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matthew 25:23).
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
