And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.

They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Hebrews 11:32-38

The centuries since Hebrews 11 was written have added to this list, so that the chapter would be turned into its own volume.

Eusebius tells of Blandina, a slave girl in Lyon, France, who was tortured and killed for her faith in the summer of 177 AD. The Christians were prohibited from appearing in public places and increasingly subject to abuse and imprisonment, and many of them were slowly but surely arrested.

The process included being interragated in the forum by the provincial governor, and those who professed to being Christians were offered the chance to renounce their faith. If they did not, they were subjected to the most horrible tortures, and condemned to the beasts of the amphitheater, "being made all day long a spectacle to the world in place of the gladiatorial contest in its many forms." So wrote Eusebius.

Blandina, a slave girl, was the last to die. Hung from a post, she was exposed to wild animals, but they would not attack. Repeatedly tortured ("the heathen themselves admitted that never yet had they known a woman suffer so much or so long," she eventually was ensnared in a net and trampled beneath the feet of a bull.

Her body, and those of others who had been martyred, was left unburied, guarded by soldiers. After six days, the remains were burnt and the ashes cast into the Rhône.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40

Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Edward Burne-Jones was an English artist of the late 19th Century, and bemoaned the little impact his life had made. With joy he had strived for beauty and good work in it, and had hoped to influence his fellow-creatures in both these directions, but he had come to realize how small, if not absolutely nothing his influence had been.

His biographer sat and tried to console him. Burne-Jones would not hear of it. He understood that the people who professed the greatest admiration for his work were also people who held views of life that he saw as an abomination. His conclusion? "Such bitter draughts of  seeming failure are poured out in all ages for those to whom the work is appointed of carrying on the lasting traditions of the world." (GOLD CORD page 36)

Amy Charmichael found herself in India, with a calling to rescue children who had been dedicated to the temple for worship purposes - and unmentionable evil.

"With the coming of each new child we learned a little more of the private ways of this dreadful underworld of India..."  She drew strength from the prayer of F. H. Meyers who asked that God "teach me yet anew with what a fierce and patient purity I must confront the horror of the world."

Charmichael knew on Whom she must rely. "We can only touch evil by virtue of the cleansing blood. Nothing but the white fires of God's holiness suffice for such contact. Move out from the full stream of Calvary and you know yourself not only defenceless, but stained."

Still, "bitter draughts of seeming failure" flooded her at times. "And unlike the artist," she says, "we had no canvases crowded with beauty to offer to anyone - Not as though I had already attained was written in large letters over everything we touched. It is written there still. And yet something in the words of Burne-Jones made them unforgettable. They struck down to reality."

"Perhaps in a sense not in the least understood then, they forecast what we were to find in the days when people would be kind to us and interested, and pleased, and yet not really in sympathy and not truly understanding. To count on such for so-operation was to be disappointed."

"It was well to be forewarned. For the work wsa to develop upon lines that would not find general acceptance, and we had to learn the unchangeable truth: Our Master has never promised us success. He demands obedience. He expects faithfulness. Results are His concern, not ours. And our reputation is a matter of no consequence at all."

What though I stand with the winner,
Or perish with those that fall?
Only the cowards are sinners,
Fighting the fight is all.
Strong is my foe, who advances,
Snapped in my blade, O Lord;
See their proud banners and lances -
But spare me the stub of a sword.
Amy Charmichael