Warning, Graphic Image: Wake Up America!

I had seen the little yellow Arabic letter that some of my Catholic friends were/are posting as their profile picture on Facebook, briefly skimmed over articles about ISIS and the killing of Christians in Iraq and the Middle East, but I didn't fully understand the sheer brutality and utter wickedness of what is truly going on right now on the other side of the world until I saw this picture. 

Source: www.catholic.org
Islamists killing a woman by slitting her throat and capturing her blood in a bowl, holding her firm as her life literally drains from her neck. Such forms of execution are intended to intimidate others.

Now I know my audience isn't as large as per say Catholic Online, but the fact is, people should be aware of what is happening- and that is one of the biggest reasons for this post. Right now. Everyday. And we should care about it. Are millennials and those a few years older oblivious and apathetic to vile, current events such as this one because we are simply uninformed? Or is it because our generation has become numb to society, religion and politics in general? Or could it be because we grew up in American classrooms which banned prayers and the Bible? Is it because as children, we were told to put our heads under the blankets of liberalism and ignore the fundamental rights which were fully endowed to us by our Creator? Could it be because the Lord's name has been taken out of the pledge of allegiance and used as fowl language instead? Has the importance of religion and God been swept under the rug by our parents and leaders of our country? 

The picture above hits home to me for so many reasons. This unnamed woman is a young, Christian woman just like me. She had a family, a home, a life. But more than that, she gave her life so people would know our Almighty Lord is worth a violent death. 

Pictures such as this one, though terrifying to view, should be viewed. How else are hearts supposed to break for these people? What other way is there to light a fire beneath our complacent asses and finally take a stand for what is right? How else are we supposed to comprehend the sanctity of life, or the immeasurable, uncontainable value of the very God that is worth dying for? 

Elizabeth Elliot once said, "There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for. One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime."

As Christians, we are called to stand away from the darkness and be a light in the world. 

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again . . ?" (Matthew 5:13a) 

If we lose our morals as a "Christian" nation, what then will we have to stand on? And if we continue to accept and allow our national genocide of unborn children, won't we eventually begin to accept our own Christian holocausts and the removal of American, civil rights? If we, as a nation lose our saltiness, how will we become salty again?

We must not so easily surrender what our forefathers fought so valiantly for. We must stand on our faith, no matter what the cost. 

So help give the next generation a fighting chance at holding onto their God-given liberties. 

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.