What Does God Expect Christians to Endure?
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We mentioned Paul detailing how so many started with powerful spiritual experiences and yet perished in the wilderness because they failed to faithfully cling to God when things got tough. The same message is packed into the rest of the Old Testament, with warnings and further stories from throughout Israel’s history of appallingly vast numbers of people falling away, and of individuals like Esau, Balaam (note), Saul, Solomon and others, who started off well but fell into error. Whether it be of a servant, a son, or a lover, faithfulness is expected. God’s love is such that he longs to enter into mutual, never-ending devotion with us. It hardly bodes well if we cannot keep this up even for our few years on earth. The divine principle is spelled out here: Ezekiel 18:24-32 But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness . . . shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered . . . Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. . . . Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin . . . and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord God: therefore turn yourselves, and live. The God who graciously disregards our sins when we wholeheartedly return to him, disregards our service when we desert him. It is not, of course, that we should be panicking over our salvation. Our God is mighty to save. But does the Bible present life after salvation as putting our feet up until we get to heaven? Or does it keep emphasizing that what we do with the rest of our stay on the planet is critical in determining our destiny, and can even impact the destinies of those whose lives we touch? Jesus refused to make it easy for would-be followers. To various ones he said: * “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” * “Leave the dead to bury their own dead . . .” * “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.” (Luke 9:57-62) Was Jesus needlessly harsh or could it be that hard times are so much the norm for Christians that steely resolve is a basic requirement for all would-be followers? We rightly expect our Savior to always be here for us. And he deserves nothing less from us. We are God’s representatives, not spasmodically but 24/7; not only in the thrill of first love but when the going gets tough. We are not paid by the hour like laborers. As family, we are expected to keep pressing on with our life’s work beyond normal working hours, and enjoy the rewards forever. Divine promises can come with provisos our eye sometimes slips over, For example, “he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (Colossians 1:22-23, NIV). Consider also:
Galatians 6:9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.
Hebrews 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end Biblical Christianity is about love, joy, peace and rejoicing, but at times will this be in spite of hardship, not instead of it? There will be miracles, but will they sometimes be miracles of endurance of the order of those heroes of the Faith who “were tortured, not accepting their deliverance . . . Others were tried by mocking and scourging . . . imprisonment . . . stoned . . . sawn apart . . . tempted. . . . They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated . . . wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth. . . .” (Hebrews 11:35-39)? The stakes could not be higher. We are in a spiritual war zone. Quoting from the NIV:
2 Timothy 2:4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.
1 Peter 2:11 . . . I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
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