Waldensian Witness

In the book Truth of Propaganda my late friend and colleague, Pastor George Vandeman, of our It Is Written television program, tells this fascinating story: A number of years ago a pastor led a group of young people on a guided tour of the Waldensian valleys of the Piedmont region of Italy. One evening they were singing around the campfire and telling mission stories. Some of the Waldensian people drifted in and stood listening in the darkness. Their hearts were touched as they listened to the testimonies of those young people and heard them singing about the second coming of Christ.

When the songs and stories were over, a Waldensian elder stepped into the light of the campfire and said, “You must carry on! We, the Waldensian people, have a proud heritage behind us. We are proud of the history of our people as they have fought to preserve the light of truth high upon these mountainsides and up and down these valleys…. This is our great heritage of the past.

But we really do not have a future. We have given up the teachings we once believed in. The sad thing is we are not moving forward with courage to face the future. You must carry on!”

The cry of the centuries comes ringing down the corridors of time, echoing in our ears this very moment. Someone must carry on. Someone must carry the torch of truth. Someone must faithfully preserve the truth Christ died for.

Someone must stand guard till He comes. God is looking for a people who will stand like Daniel, who purposed in his heart to serve God. To purpose means to decide, to choose, or to determine. The heart is the biblical seat of decision.

Daniel chose not to violate his conscience. He determined not to displease God in any area of his life. Compromise is the road to spiritual disaster. Daniel held the torch of truth high.

He uncompromisingly stood for the right. God honored Daniel’s faithfulness. Kings and empires rose and fell, but Daniel stood firm.

His witness echoes throughout the centuries. Hold the torch of truth high. The words of that old Waldensian elder ring in our ears in this generation. “You must carry on.”

We dare not fail now.