By David ReayThursday 21 Jan 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (The Message)
We may sometimes hear it said that those who don’t follow Jesus have no purpose in life. Only Jesus brings meaning. Sounds good, but it is not true. The common grace of God distributed to all made in his image and likeness allows all people to enjoy what benefits there are in living in God’s world. And we also know that those who defy God can prosper in this life: the Psalmist often writes of this fact.
This sort of overstatement has its companion in another one: that following Jesus brings a pleasurable and peaceful life. Also not true. Of course we have pleasure and peace, but not all the time. The same Jesus who promised peace also promised trouble. The same Jesus who promised victory over the enemy also warned of the battles to be fought against that enemy.
So we are not to promise ourselves or others that coming to Jesus will mean constant victory and unbroken serenity. Followers of Jesus do not find this to be true, so we are not to indulge in false advertising when we share our faith.
We are promised the strong presence of Jesus. We are promised his companionship. We are promised everlasting life. We can delight in what we are truly promised without pious exaggeration. We don’t have all the peace, all the victory, all the answers. We have Jesus, and that is enough.
Blessings
David