Kill-Then Die a Martyr's Death

Gabriel, who was raised in a religious family, was taught that his homeland was in the throes of a holy war. Hence, at 19 years of age, he volunteered for military service and asked to be sent to the battlefront.  For 13 months he was in the fiercest  of the battles, at times just a mile from the enemy.  "I remember one occasion in particular," he says. "Our commander told us that the enemy would attack that night. We were so keyed up that we fired our mortar all night long."  He regarded  people from the neighboring country as his enemies, deserving of death.  "My thought was to kill as many as possible. Then, like many of my friends, I wanted to die a martyr's death."

However, in time Gabriel became disillusioned. He fled to the mountains, crept across the frontier into a neutral country, and traveled to Europe.  He kept asking God why life was so difficult, whether problems were a punishment from God. He came into contact with Jehovah's Witnesses, who showed him from the Bible why life was so full of problems today. -Matthew 24:3-14;  2 Timothy 3:1-5. 

The more Gabriel learned from the Bible, the more he realized that it contains the truth.  "I learned that we can live forever on a paradise earth. Strangely enough, that is something I longed for as a child."  The Bible comforted Gabriel and soothed his hitherto troubled heart.  His deepest emotional wounds began to heal. So by the time he met Daniel, a former enemy, Gabriel felt no hatred any more. But what made Daniel come to Europe?

Next time: "If You Really Exist, Please Help Me!" 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2001