Christians, especially American Christians, often have an interesting view of what it means to be a follower Jesus. They read the Proverbs, and then they read the glorious promises found in the historical books of the Old Testament. They read about how God promised wealth and physical success to Israel, if they would just return to Him.
They start to get a little excited.
Then they turn on the television to watch the popular preachers of our day. The prosperity prophets proclaim a future of happiness and monetary abundance. All you need to do is believe in Jesus and give them some money, they say. The blessings will reign down! There will be no pain in your life. You will never go broke. Your life will be the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Then these Christians go nuts.
Next Stop, Reality!
But let’s take things back to the real, actual Jesus. No, I’m not talking about that genie-in-a-bottle Jesus. I’m not talking about that winning-lottery-ticket Jesus. I’m talking about that real Jesus. Let’s hear what He says about what will happen when you give your life to Him:
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues,
And you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles.
When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour;
For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes.” (Matthew 10:16-23)
Flogging? Fleeing? Hatred? Death? Oh my. But wait, it gets better. The following is what happened to one of the godliest men to have ever lived, Paul. Let’s hear about the easy, prosperous life he had once he accepted Christ:
“Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.
From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
In weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27, ESV)
My friends, the prosperity preachers are liars. When you become a Christian and live your faith, you will be hated, vilified, humiliated, and more. The extent of this depends on each person’s individual circumstance, but you get my point.
God doesn’t promise us a physically prosperous life. He did to the Israelites, but that was when His Kingdom was a physical nation. His Kingdom plan is in a different stage now. It used to be about self-preservation (Israel), now it is about evangelism and growth (Christianity).
And God tells us there will be growing pains.
On That Note…
Now that I’ve thoroughly encouraged you and lifted your spirit, let me end on a high note. What’s at the end of this? Why give your life for Christ? Is it worth it? My friends, it is.
Whenever you are feeling down, read Revelation chapters 21-22. I won’t copy and paste it here (because that would be a little long). But I can tell you a little bit about what Heaven will be like.
There will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more human-trafficking, no more rape, no more sickness, no more divorce, no more murder, no more crying, no more tears. Just infinite, eternal joy.
There will be a city the size of America-ish (don’t believe me? Read Revelation 21:16). It will have beautiful diamonds all around it.
We will see the saints throughout history. We will see friends and family. We will have eternity to get to know each other.
But above all, we will get to know God better. The Creator of the universe, the omniscient, omnipotent One. The infinite, eternal Jehovah. Our loving, caring Maker. He will be there for us. He will never leave us.
Which Brings Us Back to Now
This life will be painful sometimes. God has warned us about that. Friends will abandon us; family and friends will die. We’ll get sick and hurt. Injustice and cruelty will run rampant at times.
But keep your chin up. Eternal joy awaits us. What’s a few moments of this life compared to that?
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