Worth Dying For...

Spent the morning reflecting on a little bit of history I learned while on a family trip to Scotland a few years ago. Of course, there’s a good number of opinions flying around, but this is the story as I heard it…

The Castle of Urquhart sits on the bank of Loch Ness. We don't hear much about it today. Its nearly 4,000 years of history are overshadowed by a mythic creature that was first sighted in 1933.

Urquhart was a military stronghold, which changed hands countless times is the tenuous Scottish history. As the Scottish and English fought for the right to control the throne in Scotland, Urquhart Castle became a battleground. In 1692, the English parliament ordered its destruction for fear of it falling into Jacobite hands. The Jacobites, Highland Warriors, were determined to maintain the rightful royal line rather than following England's appointed puppet kings. Their tenacity struck fear in the heart of English officials who decided the best route was to dynamite the disputed castle and walk away.

Hmmm…

The Urquhart clan, Jacobite supporters, were so committed to their goal of restored Scottish royalty that it threatened their financial ruin. Such drastic beliefs divided the family. At one point the clan was so at odds that half the clan marched in support of the true monarchy while the remainder kept up appearances of English support to maintain their coffer.

Doesn’t all this sound familiar?? It should.

78 years of monstrous tales…tails? have all but erased centuries of truth. A handful of the clan was willing to give up everything to serve the rightful authority. Those in power choose to destroy the castle out of fear of what a few passionate followers can actually accomplish.

Are we as Christians that passionate about our allegiance to the Lord? Do we believe it’s worth sacrificing everything – money, adoration, security, our lives – to insure that no one else sits on the throne? Are we that unrelenting in our pursuit of single-minded devotion? Or do we cow-tow to the invading, foreign presence that storms into our lives demanding respect and fear? 

A lot of historians speak about the massacre at Castle Urquhart and the strategy of the Urquhart clan as a military failure. I'm not surprised. It failed to accomplish its intended goal of restoring the Stuarts to the throne. But wouldn't the Urquhart clan view servitude to an English king as failure, as well? They may not have accomplished their ultimate goal, but at least they upheld their principles in the process. 

Choosing the right over the safe and secure path isn't popular (and sometimes it defies logic). Sometimes our efforts to serve the True Authority look like failure to the world around us. Not that we're looking to dive head first into catastrophe, but often the direction God guides us in looks like a ruined castle...

"In that day, I will restore David's fallen shelter - I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins - will rebuild it as it used to be." Amos 9:11

God destroyed Jerusalem because the Israelites had turned their eyes from him. He wanted to teach them that devotion to him is essential.

Is it really more comfortable to conform to the invading ruler? Will it actually ensure security?