Many people think that the things we do here on this earth follow us…that our legacy is defined by our actions. I think this is right to an extent, but slightly off. WHAT we do is far less important than WHY we do it. Revelation 14:13 says “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” Dying is one of those things that don’t really help anyone unless we’re dying for something greater than ourselves. The soldier that dies defending his country or the father that dies protecting his children are heroes. But all that is nothing compared to a life that is dedicated to God in the light of persecution.
Most of us have no clue what persecution really is…but we’re talking about Revelation here…people being killed for not worshiping the image of the beast (15:15). I’ve heard that some churches in developing countries actually pray for persecution of the American/Western church…not because they hate us or anything like that, but because they truly want us to experience the ‘joy of suffering’ and be forced to consider our motives, instead of just our actions.
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about this…do we choose to do good and kind things, or avoid those things that could hurt others because it seems like the moral or convenient thing to do? Or do we do it because we’re in love with the God who put thought into every microscopic detail of creation and allowed his son to die for us? Should we make role models of those who donate millions of dollars to charity, or the addicts who get clean, if they're living a life dedicated to something other than God? Do we live in America, or do we live (and die) in the Lord?
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