BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
Rev 2:10 “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
Suffering is an integral part of the walk of a Saint of Christ. Our Saviour suffered from His entrance into the world until He returned to His majesty on high. His entrance was in a stable; there was no proper place for Him to be born. The interim years were fraught with doubt, questioning, mockery, betrayal, and finally death by those who did not believe who He was and who sent Him. Praise be to God!He rose triumphantly. The Father would not allow The Holy One to see corruption.
From His earliest years, He caused controversy in His family. They had attended the Passover celebration and when they thought He was among the throng of persons who were making their way back home, He could not be found. They turned back to try to find Him. He was found sitting in the temple conversing with the lawyers and doctors. When questioned by His parents He responded “Wist it not that I should be about my Father’s business. “That was the gist of His tenure here on earth; the completion of His Father’s business. He knew that He was the one chosen from the foundation of the world to redeem Adam’s fallen race. This meant that He would have to come to earth and live among those whom He would save. Because He was not born in the palace of the king of that day, He would not be believed. Ostensively, He would have to prove Himself to the people around Him.
Jesus was clear about His mission, so He was not deterred or daunted by the criticism or the ridicule of the day. He had signed up to die for Adam’s fallen race. He was determined to teach His Father’s will to the people and to finish the work assigned to Him. Imagine this comment “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” But there were those around Him who knew of His goodness and power. They knew He was the Saviour of the world and the Son of God. So when He shared certain words with them, as recorded in St. John 6 we see that the words of Christ offended many of His disciples. St. John 6:66 records, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. “They knew Him as the son of Mary and Joseph, their neighbours, and could not understand how He was claiming to have come down from heaven and to be the Son of God. Yet there were those in the group who believed. They responded by saying “Lord to whom shall we go, for thou hast the words of eternal life. “
Jesus set the perfect example for us. He was faithful all the way
to the
cross. If we are “to be like Him” and “see
Him as He is”, we must follow His example. We must be willing to be
faithful unto death. We must remain focused. We must remember that our
ultimate goal is to
live and reign with Him. We want to hear Him say “Well done”. We want
to be able to walk on the streets of
gold. This means that when the trials
come, as they most definitely will; when abuse and the challenges
surface, when
you are standing for Christ Jesus and it seems as if you are standing
all
alone, believe me, you are not alone. Christ Jesus is standing with you.
He promised never to leave you or forsake you. Always remember that
because He triumphed,
you will triumph too. Keep your faith
and trust in Him and do all you do to His honour and His glory.
Remain faithful to Him even unto death!