Phil. 3:12-13, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,”
We hear today too much of the health and wealth gospel. Many are falling into this belief that if you become a Christian that your life will become easier and more comfortable. We do not like to hear that there could be trials, persecution, sickness and struggles as a believer. We have created this Jeanie in a Lamp instead of following after the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Paul actually had it easier as a Pharisee then he ever had it as a Christian. Paul was beaten, imprisoned (at times naked in prison), shipwrecked and finally killed; all after accepting Christ as his Savior. This does not sound like the wishy-washy health and wealth faith that is out there today, and in my personal opinion borders on heresy because it is teaching a different gospel in many, many respects.
As we press on to be sanctified in Christ there are going to be temptations to take short cuts, or to take the easy road, but this will only cheat you out of the rewards in Heaven. Where do you want your riches? Here or in Heaven? Temporal or Eternal? Paul followed and considered it joy to be persecuted for his faith in Christ. He was excited to go through the same things as Christ. He went from being able to arrest and have Christians murdered to being on the most wanted list. His life did not get easier. Why should ours?
Christians are the true heroes of today. Think about any heroes in your life and then look at their lives and I will bet they are where they are today because they went through tough training, trials, and usually persecution of some kind. Watch any movie and the protagonist is always going through tough issues and struggles, but in the end they wind up with the rewards, but not in the beginning.
As a Christian you are a hero, as you have the answer to life’s big questions. With your faith in Christ the struggles and trials of continuing to grow as a believer follows. We should consider our trials and persecutions as a blessing since that is God’s way of chinking away at our sin and making us stronger and more sanctified. No one attains peek physical perfection by sitting on the couch watching TV and eating junk food all day. Neither can the Christian think that they will be at their peek spiritual shape without training (persecution and discipline). Name it and claim it is false teaching and dangerous.
The easy road may seem like the road to take, but most times it is a trap to make you less effective then you could be in Christ. Like a parent or husband, Christ is out for our best and not usually what we think is best. He knows exactly what we need in our lives to help us to attain that next phase in our walks. To shirk from the tough times will short change yourself and you will ultimately regret it. If do not regret it here, then when you stand before God, who will judge you as a believer, you will.
Are you worshipping a Jeanie in the Lamp or Christ? Are you just looking for the health and wealth, or walking closer with God? One will get you temporal “happiness” and the other will give you eternal “contentment and bliss.” The choice is yours. Are you are hero or couch potato? As the old saying goes, “If you want to run with the big dogs, you have to get off the couch.”
Hebrews 12:10-11, “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
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