Christianity is presented by many happy clappy churches today, much like a “life insurance” policy, expedient for all to possess…
““Come to Jesus” they say, if you want to be protected from harm, sicknesses and disasters…
Come to Jesus if you want to have a happy healthy, and prosperous life here on earth!”
Beware: All this is just “Sales-man talk”.
Do not believe it.
If you approach “Christianity” with such motives and expectations, you will get disappointed and will never become a true child of God…
Prosperity, blessings, happiness and health are definitely not what the Jesus and the Bible promises.
It has not been my experience (for even though I am still a teenager, I have had a hard life so far), nor has it been my father’s experience who is 72 and has lived through many hardships and sorrows so far, during the 49 years he spent as a dedicated child of God.
In fact, it has not been the experience of the early Christians either, nor that of the apostles themselves. They wrote in (1 Corinthians 4:9- 13)
“We, God’s servant’s and apostles, are looked upon as fools in this society…
We are looked upon as weak and are treated with contempt by all.
Up to this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, ill-clad, knocked about and practically homeless…
Even though we spend every moment evangelizing others we still have to work for our living by manual labor.
Men curse us and make our lives miserable, but we take it patiently.
They ruin our reputations, but we go on… trying to win them for God.
We are considered as being society’s dropouts, the scum of the earth, yes, up to this very day.”
And in 1 Peter 4: (12-14)
“Do not be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, brethren, as if something strange were happening to you.
Be glad that you suffer, for Jesus himself suffered. When you suffer, just as he did, you are blessed, since it is an indication that the Spirit of God rests upon you.”
The apostle says in Acts 14:(22)
“Keep in mind that we, God’s children, must go through many sorrows in order to enter the Kingdom of God “
Jesus himself told us that:
“The road that leads to eternal life is full of sorrows, so much so that few are those who will persist in following it up to the end, for whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. (Matthew 7:14, Matthew 16: 24)
So, it is clear: We do not become Christians in order to get something out of God in this life or even the next…
Whatever good we get here on earth from Him is a bonus!
We choose to follow Jesus Christ simply because we know that it is our solemn duty to live in a way that pleases God our Creator
And as we get to know Jesus, as we realize what he has done for us, we should want to become more like him, good, selfless and loving as he is!
Yes, I want to be good, holy, loving, humble and faithful to him. I must let nothing discourage me in following Jesus’ words faithfully.
Let us all have the same determination and brace ourselves to go through whatever life has in store for us in a way that pleases our God, whether it be joys or sorrows, riches or poverty, success or failures.
Let us love Jesus and one another.
Let us keep faithfully his Words that are written in the Bible.