And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered on account of the word of God and on account of the testimony which they had maintained. And they cried out with a loud voice saying, “How long, O Lord, the Holy and True One, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who live on the earth?” Rev. 6:9, 10.

            Friedrich Nietzsche, the nineteenth-century German philosopher famous for the line “God is dead,” became a serious opponent of Christianity. He claimed that it was a religion invented by the weaklings of the world to make themselves feel good about their unfortunate circumstances. By exalting humility, submission, and poverty as virtues while condemning pride, power, and wealth, the powerless in society could cast their condition in a positive light.

            Nietzsche believed that this inversion of values was bad both for individuals and for society as a whole, and he ridiculed it as “the slave rebellion in morals.” Taking offense at texts such as the above that exalt the powerless and the victims of oppression, he had no use for “blessed are the meek” or “turn the other cheek.” The New Testament had much more to offend him: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

            The philosopher scorned the entire Christian value system as a glorification of all that is weak and ineffective in life. And his objections have no easy answer, no simple way to prove that the Christian way of suffering and service is inherently superior to self-promotion and competition. The Bible does make clear, however, that when God asks His followers to follow the way of humility and suffering, it is only because He Himself has already set the example. He requires these characteristics in His followers because they are traits that He Himself exemplifies.

            In the person of Jesus, God demonstrates that He is “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29, NIV). Though He held the highest place in the universe, Christ “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (Phil. 2:6, 7, NIV).” Jesus not only became human, which would be humiliating enough, but submitted to unjust arrest and execution (Phil.2:8).[1]

            In Revelation 6:9 and 10 the souls under the altar recognize the injustice in their suffering. At the same time, they are following in the footsteps of the Lamb that was slain. The cross does not call us to do what is natural--it summons us to deny ourselves and follow Him, even to the point of death. 

            Lord, teach me the full meaning of the cross. I yield my plans and my ambitions to You today. Teach me Your ways.

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