Title: Suffering due to differences / Philippians 1:29
Today, I would like to share the word of God under the title of suffering due to differences. It is said that those who believe in Jesus will suffer a lot while living on this earth. Jesus also said that the saints will suffer, and the eighth beatitude among the Beatitudes is that blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.
Why do the saints suffer while living on this earth? The typical reason is because the saints live on this earth and live differently from the world. Because we live differently, the world can't stand it. People can't stand things that are different from themselves.
For example, Abel was killed by Cain. Why was Abel killed by Cain? Yes, because his life was righteous. As for the righteous life, Cain chose to kill Abel rather than wanting to live a righteous life. Among the movies that were popular 10 years ago, there is a movie called Amadeus. The film reveals the excellence of Amadees Mozart. But there is a man named Salier who was his rival. Salieri was also a great musician. If that person decided that I also had to become a great musician like Mozart and compete with him, they will probably say that there were two great masters at that time: Amadeus Mozart and Salierre. But Salierre did not take such an approach and went to kill Mozart. The world is like this.
If you look at the history of Greece, an irony of history appears. One of the most prominent politicians in the history of Athens is Aristides. This man named Aristides, despite being a politician, had excellent morals. Even The Just! He was a man called the righteous. However, he was expelled by the Athenians by the vote of the Athenians by the method of induction.
Isn't that strange? How can a person who has everything like that get kicked out of people's vote? Those who voted against him said this. 'Because I didn't want to hear that man was always called righteous. That person is always The Just! Because I am tired of being called righteous.' I think this is human. Man has everything. Clean. Honest. Nevertheless, he is righteous, righteous, righteous. Hearing these stories is boring, so it is a human being that can be expelled.
Therefore, it is clear why believers are persecuted while living on this earth. Because we are different, we can be persecuted as much as we want, and that is what this real life looks like. Philippians 1:29 says, "For it has been granted you for Christ's sake, not only that you believe in him, but also that you should suffer for him." It is said that grace is given as the ability to overcome hardship.
What was the reason for the grace? It is meant to give us faith. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith that develops in our hearts is a gift from God. Faith comes from grace. And what is the purpose of giving grace, so that he may suffer for his sake, so that he may overcome suffering. Why should we receive grace while living on this earth? It is because grace has the strength to overcome many hardships for the sake of righteousness in order to build faith.
If we could describe the life of a believer in one word, it is a life we live for grace. It is because without grace there can be no faith, and without grace, we cannot overcome persecution, tribulation, and suffering. In a nutshell, we can become God's people who seek grace greater than problems, those who seek grace greater than suffering, and who seek grace greater than problems. Only by holding on to this can we become servants of faith who triumph before God.
Don't think your world has become tolerant. This problem exists because we have become corrupted because we live in compromise. There is a way to live your whole life without persecution. If you acknowledge the world's standards, conform to them, and follow the world, you will not be persecuted. However, if we stand according to the word of God and claim the word of the Lord, there may be persecution. I hope that you will become servants of the Lord who walk this holy path before God.
It is said that a certain person came to Tottlian, the father of the early church. 'I have come to believe in Jesus. But after believing it, I realized that the job I had was a very bad job. But if I miss this job, my whole family will starve to death. What should I do?' In a way of this dilemma, I asked the question with a situational ethical condition.
I think Tottlian's answer back then was so cool. It is said that Tottlian said this while staring directly at the person. 'Are you sure you want to live?'
You must live! You must die when you must die. Missing a chance to die can put you to shame. After all, death is also a part of life. We spend our teenage days, we spend our 20s, we spend our 30s, and one day we must die. I hope that we will become servants of faith who can die well when we have the opportunity to die when we have to die before God. Then our life will shine! I am sure it will be a glorious life.