Yesterday (January 31, 2015) Kenji Goto was beheaded by ISIS just north of Raqqa, Syria. While the whole world has heard about his beheading, hardly anyone has been told who exactly Kenji Goto really is, or why he volunteered to go to such a dangerous place on October 24th, of 2014. What very few people know is that Kenji is a Christian, and he voluntarily chose to go to Syria to rescue a Japanese friend named Harun Yukawa, a troubled man whose company had gone into bankruptcy, followed soon after by his wife dying of cancer, and his subsequent attempt to commit suicide. Kenji had just met Harun in April of 2014, and had helped him learn how to cope in dangerous environments; so he felt partly responsible for his kidnapping in August of 2014. That was why Kenji went to Syria, to help get Harun’s release. He knew he might be killed, yet, knowing the dangers he went anyways, putting the life of his friend above his own. This part of the story has not been revealed in our press. When Peter Kassig was kidnapped last year, his conversion to Islam along with his new Muslim name was repeated in almost every report…yet few news agencies have bothered to even tell us that Kenji was a Christian, or that he voluntarily put his life ‘on the line’ for a friend. Perhaps it’s because most journalists cannot understand how Christians like Kenji can be so sacrificial. But, then Kenji wasn’t doing something out of the ordinary…he was simply following the example of his Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, who likewise voluntarily came to earth, and willingly put the lives of all of us above His own. Kenji had a great model. And now He is finally home where he belongs, with His Lord, and our Lord, Jesus Christ.