Faithful to the End [01/22/13]

Hello everybody!

Wow, I can't believe it's almost the end of January and this is only my first post of 2013! The past two months have been incredibly busy but God has definitely been working in my life and in the lives of others around me. He has revealed so much to me and I wanted to share a bit of what has been revealed to me with all of you~

What are some things people of this world highly value? Money? Love? Objects? Food? Those answers are definitely all correct! Personally, I believe one of the things we value the most is comfort. In general, people want to live comfortably. They want to have a stable job that provides them with a stable income which provides them with gadgets, plenty of food, a comfortable home and room for even more spending. In fact, the goals many people set for themselves are often made to lead to a comfortable life! Get into the good school so that I can get that good job that has good pay.

People also seek comfort in other aspects of their lives such as the emotional part of their life. We don't want to live a life where we are constantly stressed out. We don't want to live a life where we are being persecuted, ridiculed and hated. We want to be loved, adored and admired. But is this what being a Christian is about? Is this what we should be seeking and pursuing?

In 2 Corinthians 11 and 12, Paul talks about the sufferings he has gone through. He mentions how he was constantly abused, how he was often hungry and often in danger. He then says at one point, when Satan had put a thorn in his flesh, he pleaded three times with God to take it away from him, but God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (Chap. 12:9) In this verse, Paul is talking about how God is glorified through our own weaknesses and sufferings. He is able to reveal himself to others through our own struggles. Reading this verse made me wonder... When I'm struggling and when I'm weak, will I be glorifying God?

I want to share about a couple of martyrs I learned about recently. Their names are Perpetua and Felicity and their story takes place in Carthage. These two girls became Christians in a time when it was dangerous to become a Christian as Christians were being persecuted. It was more common to see the lower class (slaves) becoming Christians, but it was extremely rare to see anybody who was noble to become a Christian. Perpetua was one of those rare cases. Perpetua had everything she needed to live comfortably. Her father provided her with everything she needed, she was married and pregnant! But through Felicity, her slave, Perpetua became a Christian.

The story of Perpetua and Felicity is complex, but what happens in the end is that the two of them were killed in front of thousands of people. They were killed because they were Christians, but right until the end, they were faithful to God and glorified him even through their sufferings. They gave absolutely everything up to him and they were completely faithful to him from the beginning to the end.

When I learned about their story, I began to question my own faith. Am I faithful enough to God that I would give up everything I have just to glorify him? Do I have so much joy in glorifying him that I would go through a great deal of pain and suffering just for him to be glorified? The answers to those questions were no, but to be a faithful servant to God is what I desire. I want to live a life that glorifies him. I want to persist through my sufferings with joy just by knowing how my weakness is glorifying God! Instead of complaining to God about my struggles, I want to rejoice!

Wouldn't it be great to be as faithful as Paul, Perpetua and Felicity? I'll be praying that every one of us becomes as faithful as they are!

Thanks for reading~~

- kjoosaurus out!