I just watched a rather amusing commercial about a farmer who had a pretty bad day. Believe it or not, it is an ice cream commercial. The farmer endured a series of mishaps including getting "skunked," being chased by a bull, and being struck by lightning while work on the roof. As his wife comes home at the end of day she comes through the door asking how his day was. When she turns to the table, she finds the farmer sitting there with his hair sticking up and looking rather beat up. However, he has a huge smile on his face eating ice cream straight from the container. He looks up, gives her a goofy smile and says "It turned out OK."
Well, this just reminded me of our lives. Life can be pretty tough sometimes. I mean the world is full of darkness and we have to live in it. But we don't have to be a part of it. We are supposed to hang in there, to be set apart, to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind" instead of "conformed to the world."
The thing is if we hang in there -- if we remain steadfast and full of work for the Lord. Then we can know without a doubt that it will turn out OK. We have heaven to look forward to - and there will be no more pain or sorrow or tears in heaven. We have a mansion waiting for us and Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and it will be better than any ice cream we could ever imagine!
I talked about it a couple of days ago too; but life really is a series of ups and downs. It seems some of us go through so much more than others do. Sometimes we get so discouraged and so frustrated because we might think nothing good is ever going to happen to us again. And when the tough stuff is happening, it is not amusing whatsoever. Life is absolutely nothing like that ice cream commercial. What I mean by that is that the bad stuff is not some cartoonish like incident which we instantly recover from. But we all know that, it is after all, just a commercial. But we do know that if we love and follow God, it will "turn out OK." It really will.
Paul tells us our labor for God is not in vain. It may not always be easy. I think about the persecution that some of the early Christians endured; but they considered it a joy and honor to suffer for their Lord. And their message both by example and through their teachings in the New Testament scriptures is that "It will turn out OK." We are told in Revelation to be faithful unto death; but we are given promise of great reward -a crown of life.
God loves us so much. Jesus does, too. They promised us freedom from our sins. They promised an eternal reward in heaven - but they never promised us a life free of persecution. Living in the United States we are blessed that we don't face the persecution that our New Testament brothers and sisters in Christ did. Oh, we may get laughed at from time to time. We may be called names - we may be denied a promotion or even lose our jobs. (My Dad lost his job once because he "just didn't fit in.")
We are fortunate in this country -- but it is not so in many other countries of the world. We all know that. We should pray for our fellow Christians every day.
However, whether we are persecuted or not - life just happens. People come into our lives and sometimes leave again - causing great pain. Sickness and death enters into every life. Sometimes we are victims to crime -- or maybe we have lost our home in a fire or a tornado. Like I said, life is sometimes very difficult to get through on our own. Our Lord God is there for us. He loves us. His Son's blood (if we have been obedient to God's call) has saved us. As we follow Him in our every day lives as Christians -- at the end of our lives if we have been found faithful -- no matter how difficult life here on earth has been, there is one thing we can now. It is going to turn out OK.
Heavenly Father, today we thank you for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. We thank you for the men and women who have died for this country over the course of its life - beginning with the Revolutionary War. Without those gallant people, we would not have the right to worship you freely. We are ever thankful for their sacrifice and for the sacrifice of the families they left behind. We are also thankful for the apostles and early church members who sacrificed their lives in living and dying for you. Without their steadfast faith in the face of death we might not have knowledge of you or your plan for us. Mostly, dear God, we are thankful for your Son Jesus who shed His precious blood so that we might know the truth and be set free. We know that Jesus is the Truth, the Way and the Life. We know we cannot come to you except through Him. We are ever grateful that we know if we follow your Son - no matter how difficult our lives are, we will be able to say, "It turned out OK." Thank you, God. We pray in your Son's name, Amen.
Good night - my friends
and remember - Christ above all things,
Robin
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