Jesus died. He had enough faith to continue to live by it even to death.
So did Peter, James, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others.
It amazes me that people want to make faith into something that is supposed to keep them from suffering and even death. When did we ever get the idea that if we have enough faith that we would never experience trouble in our lives?
Faith was never a denial of reality.
It is a commitment to live into a vision of a world that could be, a commitment that could and often does lead to death. The saying “until we find something worth dying for, we won’t have anything worth living for” is true.
Faith can lead us to dare many things but it is never a guarantee that we will not suffer and die. Can we dare to live into the vision of a better world with more grace, justice, equity and peace? Then we have a faith worth living by even to death.
I have asked people (and myself) before: “Why do you think following Jesus won’t lead to a cross?”
As for me, I’ve had my share of comfort in my life. No opulence, but not enough suffering to have any high ground to stand on in this regard.