Luke 21:19 says, "Stand firm and you will win life."
Philippians 1:21 says, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
In the verses leading up to Luke 21:19, Jesus is telling the disciples that they will be persecuted and betrayed even by their families and some will even be killed for their faith. So what does He mean when He says, "Stand firm and you will win life." I don't think He's talking about our physical lives when He says we will "win life". I think He's talking about the same type of idea that Paul talks about in Philippians 1:21. To be in Christ is to live. We have eternal live with Him, even when we physically die.
Being persecuted is basically a promise to Christians who spread the Good News and live for Christ(Luke 21:12). So the question is, will I persevere through persecution even to the point of willingly giving my life for Christ? Or will I get scared and fall back into the ways of the world so that I don't get mocked and persecuted for my faith.
Ok let's simplify persecution. Persecution means to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment. Or to annoy or trouble persistently. So persecution doesn't have to only refer to people dying for their faith. That's the extreme end of it. Persecution can simply be when you tell someone about Jesus and they mock you for it. Or when you have your Bible at your job and it gets you in trouble.
I know that a lot of times I have given in to peer pressure persecution. I knew that people would judge me for what I believe so I hide my faith so that I can "fit in". Seriously? Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I don't have to go to hell and I can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe and I don't tell people about it because I'm afraid of getting mocked? Jesus was mocked, ridiculed, beaten, tortured, and then crucified and He was perfect. He never deserved any of it. But I, who am so deserving of eternal damnation have been given grace but am too worried about my social status to tell anyone about it? I don't want that to be how I live anymore. I need to be worried about how many people don't know the truth and how they are going to spend eternity. I don't want to fret about earthly things like fitting in. I want to stand out. I want people to see Jesus in me. I want to stand firm. It doesn't matter if I'm mocked by a few or even if I lose my life. The eternal life that I will win in Christ is so much more worth it. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Application:
Today, I will tape Philippians 1:21 to my wall to help me keep the right perspective on Who I am living for.
No comments:
Post a Comment