In AD 203, a young Christian mother named Perpetua faced a stark choice: make a small public sacrifice to the Roman gods and go home to her family—or remain faithful to Jesus and face death.

Her remarkable prison account, The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, gives us one of the earliest Christian martyr stories and a vivid picture of Jesus’ confronting words: “Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

Big idea: Because Christ is worth everything, Christians can hold even life itself with open hands.

Bible readings: Genesis 3:14–15; Matthew 10:34–39; Revelation 2:10.

Go deeper: Kevin DeYoung / Clearly Reformed — “Per ...