Facing The Lions - "Facing the Flames" (Daniel Chapter 3)

The nation of Israel had been overthrown by the kingdom of Babylon. The temple was torn down. The people were hauled off to a strange, distant land. The best and brightest of the young were taken in to serve the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The Israelites were under great pressure. Should they give up their culture, values, and faith and get absorbed into values and beliefs around them? Should they rebel - resist everything foreign, and seek to rise up and maybe even take over? Daniel found a third option. He chose to live without compromising his faith all the while showing the goodness of his God to a culture around him that didn’t yet believe. But it was at great personal risk. Daniel’s example of faithful living in a compromising culture has much to teach us today. Christian faith and values in our time and culture are being increasingly being challenged. Pushed to the margins. Pressured to stay private. Sometimes ridiculed. So what do we do? Give up? Give in? Resist and fight back? Or something else? There is a better way. Like Daniel, we can live without compromise and show our culture the goodness of our God. But not without great personal danger. We, like Daniel, must risk facing the lions.