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"For I
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans
8:18
It is a natural instinct of the human body to avoid suffering and
pain. Much of the progress of civilizations and the advancement of
technology has been driven by mankind's desire to make life easier
or more convenient and productive.
Too much focus on physical ease can adversely affect our perspective
of sacrifice and suffering in spiritual terms. If our aim is to
avoid suffering or inconvenience at any cost, we will draw back from
our consecration to holy service.
Dedication to a cause, with a belief so strong and so pure that it
blocks out all opposing voices of caution or dissent, has been the
one thing throughout history that has broken the pattern of
self-preservation. There are numerous accounts of people who have
given their lives in pursuit of a cause. People have willingly died
for political causes. In the medical field, there have been
researchers who have thought little of long, sleepless days and
nights, months of experimentation, and years of seemingly fruitless
effort. Ever before them was their goal - to find a cure for some
illness.
How much more should we, as believers in Christ and His cause, be
willing to sacrifice and inconvenience ourselves for the sake of
Christ and the Kingdom of God. In light of the ultimate sacrifice
that Christ made for us, any thing that we might sacrifice for Him
is only our reasonable service.
David Livingstone once said:
"People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my
life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid
back as a small part of the great debt owing to our God, which we
can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward of
healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind,
and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter?
Away with such a word, such a view, and such a thought! It is
emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety,
sickness, suffering or danger now and then, with a foregoing of the
common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause
and cause the spirit to waver and sink; but let this only be for a
moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which
shall hereafter be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.
Of this we ought not to talk when we remember the great sacrifice
which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself
for us."
If we are Christ's, we should serve Him with great abandon. The
sufferings, inconveniences and trials of this mortal life are not to
be compared with the glory that awaits if we fully offer ourselves
to Christ in this life.
-Sis. René
Smith |
