Scripture Passage
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You have one life to live. Therefore, I think you should pursue the best things in life.
Don’t chase the things that don’t matter. Don’t waste your time on trivial things. Pursue the best things. That’s what makes life worth living, isn’t it?
The thing is, as I’m sure you know, the best things in life don’t come easy.
The best things often come only after difficult struggle. Toronto Maple Leafs, for example.
The greatest temptation is to seek the easy way out. To look for an easier way to get what you want. Or to just go for the easier thing, even if it’s not what you really want.
It’s hard to pursue the best things in life.
But there’s a great pitfall in seeking the easier way out.
You miss out on the best things. You won’t get the satisfaction of getting the best things. You won’t taste the joy of it. It will always feel like something is missing.
If you can endure and prevail, then you will enjoy the rewards of the best things.
Today’s passage is a vision of a glorious future.
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9)
Palm branches signified victory. These people have prevailed and are enjoying the best things.
They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:10-11)
It is like the wonderful praise time we had. Except it’s the whole multitude and all the angels singing together.
And not just for ten minutes, but for hours on end. All caught up in the wonderful, glorious experience of singing praise.
Who were these people, the elder asks?
These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14)
They were the ones who came out of the great ordeal.
The Greek word is thlipsis. It means pressure, compression.
They endured tremendous pressure on their bodies, their well-being, social pressure. They suffered great persecution.
They suffered greatly because they were pursuing the best thing. And what was that best thing?
Faith.
They experienced great pressure and persecution because of their faith.
When they met Christ, they discovered the best thing. But holding onto that faith brought great persecution and suffering.
They didn’t give up their faith. They didn’t take the easy way out. Now, in this passage, they enjoy the rewards of faith.
They’re no longer hungry. They are in pain no more. There are no more tears.
They now stand with the multitudes and the angels singing God’s praises.
I believe that faith is the most precious thing. It’s what I stake my whole life on.
It’s more precious even than money, health, family and social standing. Why?
Because money, health, family and social standing are great, but they can all be taken away.
If your happiness depends on any of these things, then it can be shaky.
But if you have faith in God, that faith will hold you up even when everything else has been taken away.
It will give you peace and calmness even in the midst of calamities. It will lead you to another way through the storms.
It will give you joy, purpose, and freedom. The kind of joy we see in the multitudes.
These are things that faith brings.
But as you know through living life, faith does not come easy.
The whole premise of faith is not easy.
Faith is an acknowledgement that life is not in your control. That itself is not easy to acknowledge. We want to believe that life is or can be in our control.
Faith is leaving what is not in your control up to God.
It is accepting whatever life will bring, even if it’s not what you think you want, because you trust that it is still in God’s hands.
Faith is waiting on God and listening for his voice when you don’t know what to do, when you feel like there’s nothing you CAN do.
That is very difficult, especially when you are facing difficult situations. Faith gets severely tested.
When you’re having trouble in your marriage, do you take matters into your own hands? Or do you have to wait?
When you want to pursue a certain career, but there are so many roadblocks and competition, do you go for it, or go after something that seems easier?
When you’re not happy in your job, do you take action to make changes, or do you ride things out longer?
Sometimes there are no clear answers. When there are no clear answers, it makes you very uneasy.
The temptation in these situations is to take control, or do something so that you feel like you’re in control. But trying to take control is usually the easy way out.
Faith is acknowledging that you’re not in control. You do your best with what YOU can do. Then you leave the rest in God’s hands.
That is faith.
The multitudes in today’s passage are those who endured in faith. They passed the test.
Whom do I imagine at the forefront of this multitude of faithful people?
I imagine mothers from every nation, past and present. Those who endured with faith.
When a parent discovers they’ll have a child, their life changes. Especially for mothers.
With motherhood, there is no easy way out. They are in it. From the moment the baby’s in the womb, they change. Their thoughts change. It becomes all about the child.
From the moment they’re born, all their mental energies go toward the child.
What they will eat, who will take care of them? Are they making friends or learning properly? Are they in a good environment? Are they okay? Will they be okay?
At all times, mothers are thinking about their children. Worrying about them. Wondering how things are and will be.
Mothers carry a huge mental load.
They think about everything. They have to juggle that with work and other responsibilities. They experience a lot of stress.
A lot of this stress comes from the feeling that they’re not doing enough. They do everything they can but still feel like it’s not enough.
That’s where all of the mom guilt comes from. The feeling that they’re not doing enough.
My wife, Deb, is always busy doing something – she can’t relax. She hates it when I tell her to relax – she responds by saying, “I’m TOO relaxed!”
What I want to say to moms is: moms, you’re doing great. You’re doing more than enough.
Moms see their situation most clearly. They see how much life is out of their control. They know how much they need help.
That is why moms often have the deepest faith. They are most ready to turn to God for help because they know how helpless they are.
Mother’s prayers are the most fervent. Their prayers are prayers of helpless faith.
They feel powerless, so they lift prayers up to God. In those moments of helpless prayer comes mother’s tears.
It was a mother’s prayers and tears that led to one of the most influential people in Christian history.
Story of St. Augustine and his mother, Monica. It was because of her unceasing prayers that he found God.
The elder in the passage describes the multitudes in this way:
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14)
They have become victorious by walking the same path as the Lamb.
Jesus, the Lamb, did not take the easy way out.
He lived with faith. He took on whatever life threw at him. Like a lamb he followed God, even up to the cross where his blood was shed.
The multitudes followed Jesus to the cross and became one with him.
Our mothers are like that. They are not perfect people. They are deeply flawed like anyone else.
But they did not take the easy way out.
They pursued what is best for their children. They took on everything that motherhood brings: the stress, the worry, the guilt, the tears.
Those who have faith until the end will stand with the multitude. The reward of faith is everlasting joy.
This is the author’s vision:
For this reason they are before the throne of God and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:15-17)
God is faithful. True to his promises. Those who have faith until the end will experience this peace and well-being. No more hunger. No more tears.
To our moms: thank you for taking on what you do. God will wipe away your tears.
My friends: faith is the best thing. Pursue faith.
Don’t take the easy way out. Hold onto faith, do not ever let go.
One day, we will all sing together with the multitudes our praises to God.
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