Daniel

Posted by Lorren on April 5, 2011

A lot of people have their favorite Bible characters. Outside of Jesus (which I could think that most Christians would think as the most important), I like Daniel the best. Some people like New Testament characters like Paul or Peter or John, others prefer Old Testament heroes like David or Moses; I like Daniel. I also like his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which I consider to be very similar.

Daniel was abducted from Israel as a child, but he knew about God and loved him. When told that the government said that he couldn’t worship the Lord, he did it anyway, as he always had. He ended up getting thrown in the lion’s den for it, but God protected him. His friends were told to worship a false god, they refused, and were sent into a fiery furnace for their faithfulness (also protected).

I didn’t know why I liked Daniel back in the days. I thought that he was very courageous to do the right thing. It’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve started to understand why I’ve been drawn to Daniel. We live in times a lot like Daniel’s — or at least we’re headed that way. We may be asked to choose between following the law and following God.

In fact, I had my own little Daniel-like rebellion the other day. My friend had to go to court, and I was attending as a witness. I don’t think that you’re allowed to pray inside the courthouse, but I did anyway. Nobody knew I was doing it, because I always pray in my head, but I did it anyway. So there.

Some kids in the US have already been asked to bow to Allah on field trips, or to worship Allah for a school project. Kids don’t always know how to stand strong, or even that they’re asked to do something wrong. I would hope that if I am ever in that situation, I will stand strong.