Persevering for Eternal Glory
Persevering For Eternal Glory
“On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed , but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison, His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl who carried it to her mother.”
Matthew 14:6-11
John the Baptist is truly a man of great courage , who is a true advocate of truth and righteousness. John was imprisoned because he cannot tolerate the adulterous relationship of Herod with Herodias. John the Baptist paid a very high price for his conviction. Inspite of the price, John the Baptist remained voicing out the truth. It cost John the Baptist his head in remaining firm in standing for righteousness.
But that was already about two thousand years ago. And John the Baptist was very much vindicated now. John the Baptist is now rejoicing in the Kingdom of God while Herod and Herodias are now in great agony in hell. They have been agonizing there since about two thousand years ago and their agony will never end. Truly earthly life is too short and eternity is too long to live in sin.
As Christians, just like John the Baptist we may face persecutions in pursuing righteousness. We may suffer and pay a high price in living a righteous life, but keep in your mind earthly life is not that long and in pursuing righteousness a great eternal reward is awaiting us. A time will also come that all works of evil will be judged by God. And it may not be very long. The wicked will be judged and condemned , that is one sure thing to come. John the Baptist did not wait very long to be vindicated. WE have to live in constant fear of the Lord. One thing for sure, the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
As christians we have to persevere while living our earthly life, we have to be firm in our stand to live in righteousness, no matter how difficult it may be. No matter how great are the struggles and persecutions for that is the only way to be perfectly secure. Always remember the agony of the wicked in hell will never end and a great crown of righteousness awaits those who live a righteous life.
One of our attenders in our home bible study, a widow named Bing Abiog paid a very high price in following the Lord’s standard of righteousness. Before she got born again, she was earning a profitable income as fortune teller using her cards. Because of this job, she can provide well for her family’s material needs. But when she accepted the Lord Jesus in her life and repented , she also gave up her lucrative fortune telling job. Because of this she could experience financial crisis. But she did not regretted giving up her fortune telling job because today she has a great peace despite the fact that she is not materially well off. Her security now is found in the Lord no longer in the material things the world could provide. Let us always be reminded of what is written in 2Corinthians 4 :17-18:
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
