Based on Luke 2:25-35 (New King James Version)
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’ And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’”
The Apostle Paul said this shortly before dying for the Lord, as it was written: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Paul spoke about his walk with Christ like a fight, like a race, things that not only can be long, but can be hard and tiring. On the one side, it is easy, per se, to come to Christ (although true conversion is not easy either, because it requires 100% total repentance, conversion, and surrender to Him). Salvation is free, it is God’s gift to humanity through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son, through Jesus. But, being transformed daily, dealing with the continual challenge of leaving the ways of the Lord for the delights and pleasures of this world, persisting in sound doctrine, in the teaching of the Word, fighting against adversity and reproach; these things are what make it difficult to follow Christ. This is part of the fight, part of the race Paul mentioned. The Lord also said this: “‘…The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.’ Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.’” Luke 9:22-24. When we truly follow the Lord, we need to carry a cross, our cross, which has to do with the fight against ourselves, against the sin that still lives within us. Quite simply, the Truth is: that following Christ requires extremely difficult things, and whoever says different either does not know the Scriptures, or has simply not come to the Truth yet, or they are setting you up to fail in the very near future, which can only come from the enemy.
The Lord warned us about this: “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24:3-13. So, it is not just about coming to the Lord, but a person must also persist and remain in Him (despite the circumstances), a person must endure to the end, until their last breath, until their heart stops beating, and until their spirit goes to the presence of the Most High and Sovereign God; then they shall be saved.
All of this sounds difficult, no? Yes, and no one that comes from the Lord said it would be easy, and that is the Truth. But, here comes what should be considered. Despite how hard and difficult things may get (humanly speaking), none of that can compare to what the Lord has for those of us that remain faithful in Him and to Him. A difficult life in this world cannot be compared to eternity in the presence of God. And those of us that truly understand the real value of what matters, we understand that an eternity in Christ does not compare to a few years here on this planet. A little bit of diversion or pleasure, that is here today and gone tomorrow, cannot be compare to what the Lord has in store for us. All of the great heroes of faith of the Old Testament understood this, starting with Abraham. And all of us that came to follow the Lord after, like Paul, John, Peter and all the others, including those of us that live in this era, also understand that what the Lord has for us is much better than the here and now. Those of us that legitimately strive to follow the Lord, by denying ourselves, we do it not because we are foolish or ignorant or stupid, like many people think, but rather, because we know that the Lord has greater things than what this world and Satan can offer. And because we understand this also: “I [God] love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” Proverbs 8:17.
Now then, if you don’t know the Lord yet, come to Him and you will know what I am talking about, just how great God can be, even in your most difficult moments (humanly speaking). And if you have not been faithful to the Lord, but rather, you have given in to the stumbling in this life, the answer is very simple: return to the Lord. It is never too late to get into the fight or in the race but learn to be faithful to Him once and for all; do not play with God. And those of us that continue to remain in Him, let us continue fighting and running, because great things are waiting for us, if we remain faithful to the end.
So then, in all of this, the big question is: “Are you ready to not only make a new year’s resolution, but rather, to make a life’s resolution, to follow the Lord faithfully now and forever, so you are able to receive the Lord’s promises here and those that will be fulfilled in eternity? Lord bless! John