Eighty-Six Years With My King

On a cold afternoon in 155 AD, the Roman proconsul in Smyrna gave the elderly bishop Polycarp one simple way to save his life. All he had to do was say two words: "Caesar is Lord." The crowd roared. The flames were prepared. The old man had every reason to comply. Polycarp had followed Christ since childhood. He had sat at the feet of the Apostle John himself, hearing firsthand accounts of the resurrection.…