4:117 – Struggle is Temporary, Reward is Eternal!

#faithbites #faithjourney temporary

Setting

Today I took my dog to get his shots. He didn’t even whimper. No pain and the reward is great. When I got my vaccine, it hurt. The pain was temporary, I’m blessed without having major symptoms, but being vaccinated is an awesome reward. We have many things that are struggles but as they say, no pain no gain.

Following Jesus is like that too. It’s hard to not sin. We struggle to follow his rules as sin is everywhere. The world tells us to do what we want. Heck, it feels good, so why not. The struggle of following Jesus is temporary, the reward for following him is eternal salvation. For me, it’s more than worth it.

Today’s Questions: Do you feel that following God is a struggle? If so, what have you sacrificed to follow him? What are you most looking forward to when this temporary struggle is over?

Scripture

• Luke 9:23 – And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
• Matthew 8:18-22 – Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
• Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reflection

As a people, we don’t like to deny ourselves anything. Heck, I just ate chocolate and marshmallows, I don’t think that is good for me, but I did it because it tasted good. This is a minor example of the choices we make every day. The Bible is filled with Earthly sacrifices leading to heavenly rewards. We see in Mathew, Jesus telling a man not to bury his father and just come with him as the dead with bury their own dead. This is symbolic of leaving behind the concerns of Earth and following Jesus. All of the sacrifices in the Bible are nothing compared to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us. Even He, took up his cross, to pay for our sins for us to have eternal life in Jesus.

As Jimmy Buffet said, most of our sins, are a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling. Temporary sin can lead to permanent anguish. Temporary struggle on Earth from following Jesus leads to permanent and eternal life.

As we close, how do you measure your struggle against the reward Jesus provides? Remember we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We are not alone!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you told us it would be hard to follow you but your rewards outweigh any struggle. We ask you to guide us, help us, and provide direction as we navigate daily temptation. Lord, we love you and thank you for your sacrifice. We gladly take up our cross to follow you. We pray all of this in your name, Amen.