Suffering Brings Blessing

MATTHEW 19:29

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.


It's that wonderful time of year again. Celebrations of Christmas and the New Year with friends and family can be quite joyous. Unfortunately not everyone has the same perspective; spending time with family is either painful or not an option. For many it is because of their devotion to Christ.

We don't have to go to another country to be ridiculed or persecuted for our faith. It is as close as visiting with our family, talking to our neighbors, or hanging out in the break room at work. It is our decision to either continue our devotion to Christ no matter the ridicule or set our minds on pleasing mankind and give in to the world's views.

Many people have fallen prey to the mindset of pleasing mankind. They don't like rejection or feeling like the "odd-man-out" so they become like those around them. There is a name for those people: the Chameleon Christian. A chameleon is a lizard that changes its looks to blend in with its surroundings. One reason for this is to protect the lizard from possible prey. According to Wikipedia, recent research has indicated that chameleons may use this blending as a means of communication to attract a mate.

1 Peter 2:11-12 says Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

1 John 1:6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him (God) yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

As Christians we are not to blend in with the world. We should look and act different. The world does not live or look like Christ. Yet it is our responsibility to.

Is it hard sometimes? Yes, especially when it is your family who rejects you for your faith. Holidays are the hardest because they are usually focused on family gatherings.

The great news comes from Matthew 19:29. In chapter 19 Peter told Jesus that he and the disciples had left everything to follow Him. Jesus replied by ensuring him and the other disciples that they would be seated on 12 thrones in heaven for their devotion to Him. Then He said that those of us who left our families for His sake will receive a hundred times as much, plus eternal life. What a blessing!

That is just how God is. He blesses His children, especially those who have lost things for His sake. God always replaces everything we have lost or given up with blessings that far outweigh what this world has to offer. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17).

But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.(1 Peter 4:14-15) God Bless~