Last year, I received an offer for a free copy of Hearts of Fire: Eight Women in the Underground Church and Their Stories of Costly Faith from The Voice of Martyrs. Upon reading the description of the book, I knew I did not want to read it. I was afraid of learning gut-wrenching stories of Christian women persecuted for their faith. But I knew I needed to read it; I needed to remember the cost of following Christ.
Hearts of Fire is the testimonies of eight women who suffered for the sake of Jesus Christ. These women came from different backgrounds and lived in different eras. But they all shared a courageous faith and an unshakable resolve to follow Christ regardless of the cost.
VOM undertook the challenging task of tracking them, interviewing, and translating their testimonies to inspire other Christians in their faith.
They say, “It is our prayer that you come from reading Hearts of Fire with a deeper faith and steadier direction for handling life’s difficulties. If you are only amazed at these incredible testimonies, we have failed. If you can find in your own life similarities with one or more of these testimonies, and if you can gain strength from these examples of extraordinary courage, we have succeeded, and so have these women who have graciously offered to share their stories with you.”
The book has eight chapters. Each tells the story of a persecuted woman, how she became a Christian, the hardships it cost her, and her current situation.
I must say, these brave women and their stories are beyond inspiring! They endured unfathomable sufferings such as brutally losing a child, being imprisoned and tortured, and loved ones burned alive. Despite all these and more, they never shook their fist and cursed God. On the contrary, their sufferings fuelled their love and trust in Jesus, and they never ceased worshipping their blessed Redeemer.
I learned at least three crucial lessons from this book.
First, never stop sharing the gospel. Even when they were in the most bottomless pit, these women did not indulge in self-pity or neglected their calling. They always sought those lost in darkness and pointed them to the light of the world. For most of these women, evangelizing was almost a death sentence, but they did not care. Their life was to do the work of Christ, and they were willing to risk it for His glorious name. Compare them to Christians today who will not risk getting a gloried flu to gather and worship God.
Second, pray without ceasing. Martin Luther once said, “to be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” This was true of these women. Throughout their ordeals, their first response was prayer. It was their lifeline whence they receive their strength, and they held onto it tight.
Third and most important, Christ is worthy of it all. The most impressive part of these testimonies is not the extraordinary courage these women showed in their sufferings but the marvelous God who made it possible. The God who is still good and worthy of our praises even when He afflicts us deeply.
All the testimonies were inspiring, but Sabina Wurmbrand’s affected me the most. Besides inspiring me and bringing me to tears, Sabina’s story also convicted me. Especially this line, “Sabina kept thinking of how Diana and her sister had sinned to get bread for their family. Perhaps the greater sin, she decided, belonged to Christians of the free world who had not taken the time to send food that would have saved them.”
A few things bothered me about Hearts of Fire. I was uncomfortable with the role of some of these women in the church. Scripture does not allow women to teach men, but a few women still did. I am not referring to one-on-one evangelizing and sharing the gospel, but women teaching and preaching and having spiritual authority over men. I know these women faced extraordinary circumstances, but there are no exceptions when God gives a command.
Take missionary Elizabeth Elliott, for example. After the Auca people murdered her husband in Ecuador, she was the only person with biblical knowledge who could speak the local language. Rather than preach to men and disobey God, she gave private classes to a man so he could preach to the church. I highly respect these women’s faith, and I know I am not a tenth as courageous as they are, but their circumstances do not justify disobeying God’s Word.
Besides the theological issues, I highly recommend reading Hearts of Fire. If you live in a country where you are free to worship, you will do well to know the sufferings of our brothers and sisters around the world and learn from their courageous example.
