You may not see this fact anywhere else, but it was 243 years ago (1776) this very day that a noble patriot died. In order to help the colonists, Nathan Hale, a graduate of Yale, had volunteered to spy on the British, but he was caught. There was no trial; he was not allowed to see a spiritual advisor or even read a Bible. However, before they hung him, he was allowed to express one of the noblest patriotic sentiments ever recorded: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
The young man, just 21, thus passed from this earth at a time when things looked bleak for the United States and without receiving any hint of this country’s glorious future. But regardless of the outcome of the war, Nathan Hale knew what he believed in. He knew that tyranny was wrong and that governments needed to derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed,” as stated in the Declaration of Independence. He paid the ultimate price for these beliefs. His few words are still remembered and honored, alongside those of Patrick Henry, whose moving speech ended with words that will forever ring throughout the corridors of time: “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
From where do such sentiments, which combine passion and truth, arise? Both Henry and Hale were reared at a time when the Bible was an honored book and a significant part of most people’s lives. Perhaps the commitment which they saw in the lives of Jesus and His apostles inspired them in secular matters as well. Jesus serves as the model for bearing witness to the truth—even when it was not convenient. The Sanhedrin convicted Him by His own words—His admission that He is the Son of God (Mark 14:61-62). Before Pilate, He also plainly spoke—even when it made the ruler angry at Him. Of course, Jesus did not need to give more than one life. One was sufficient: “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12).
The Apostle Paul constantly put his life on the line. He once declared to some lackluster brethren, “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31). He said that he and all the apostles were treated as “the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things” (1 Cor. 4:13). And what about Christians in the first century (and afterward) who gave their lives for their Savior? They were not even guilty of spying; they had harmed no one. Yet they were put to death. They may have wished they could die more than once for Jesus. Is it the absence of the influence of the Bible that leads to a lack of conviction on the part of so many today for truth? Regardless, let all of us give the only life we have for Him Who died for us (2 Cor. 5:15; Gal. 2:20).