"Suffering faithfully"
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. (Revelation 14:12 NLT)
Many Christians around the world are facing persecution for their faith. Many give their lives & many of their lives are at risk for Christ. The church that John wrote to was facing intense persecution as well. And notice what he encourages the believers with to endure persecution.
(1) Patience
He first encourages them to have patience. This is not the end. Persecution will not last forever. There is a coming kingdom that they are citizens of & this world is not their home. And yet patience may be the most elusive attribute in suffering. Patience is elusive in everyday life, I can't imagine in suffering.
We must endure whatever comes for giving our lives for Christ & his kingdom with patience. This is not the end & this suffering is momentary.
(2) Obey his commands
Suffering does not negate our responsibility to walk with God & keep his commands. Our faithfulness to God in suffering means we must also be faithful in keeping his commands.
Daniel embodied this in the Old Testament. Although he was in exile he obeyed the commands of God to not eat what God had forbidden.
We have a chance in suffering for Christ to show the world their need for him by our obedience to his commands.
(3) Maintain faith
Suffering challenges our faith. How can God not be faithful to his faithful people? Suffering for being obedient to God seems illogical. But faith also is illogical. How can we trust in something we have never seen? How can we trust the goodness of God in the midst of difficult circumstances? The answer is faith. We must trust that God is faithful & that persecution is only temporary. We must have faith that we are enduring suffering with the hope of a better inheritance.
We may not face persecution for our faith like some of our brothers & sisters around the world but we can pray for them that God would give them patience, obedience, & faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment