Good Morning Friends,
“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What
did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners
before the LORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the
evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’ Then those who
feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A
scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared
the LORD and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘in
the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in
compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the
distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God
and those who do not.’” (Malachi 3:14-18)
Sometimes it does seem futile to serve the
Lord. From an earthly perspective serving the Lord does not always seem to
bring blessings. In fact, sometimes serving the Lord makes life harder.
Think of the persecution the early Christians
were under. Life for them was not easy. The faith they had embraced made them
outcasts in the world. The world turned against them and made life miserable
for them. Serving God didn’t seem like a good idea from an earthly viewpoint.
There are places today around the world where
Christians are still persecuted. They suffer for their faith – loss of family,
loss of job, loss of prestige, and sometimes loss of life.
Even in our own culture there are a number of
ways in which following Jesus makes life harder. Our faith isn’t always
respected and sometimes Christians are despised for what we believe.
But there will come a day when it will be
obvious that those who chose to serve the Lord made the right choice. In that
day those who serve the Lord will be blessed and rewarded for our relationship
with Him. In that day those who continued to turn their backs on the Lord will
face judgment and punishment.
Christians are to take the long view of life,
not the short view. We do not serve God for what we get out of it in this
world. We serve God because it is right and because, in the end, in eternity,
it will be worth it.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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