As we talked about in the last few devotions, Christians, now, more than ever, need to focus on spiritual things. In these biblically predicted perilous times of the last days, it is more important than ever for us to avoid being distracted from things of eternal consequence by things without lasting spiritual significance. Having talked about concentrating on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ in the here and now, which is the Christian’s number one priority in life, we will turn our attention now to the importance of being rewarded by Christ in the hereafter.
In Philippians 4:5, the Apostle Paul teaches us to “let [our] moderation be known unto all men,†for “the Lord is at hand.†The Greek word Paul uses for “moderation†in this verse means “to suffer to be done wrong.†As Christ was willing to suffer being done wrong for us, Paul is saying that we should be willing to suffer to be done wrong for Christ. As the Bible clearly teaches, all who live faithfully for Christ will suffer unjustly at the hands of this Christ-rejecting world.
- “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.†(John 15:20)
- “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.†(2 Timothy 3:12)
This explains why the Bible also teaches us that we should rejoice whenever we suffer unjustly at the hands of this fallen world. We should count it a privilege to suffer injustice for our Savior who suffered the ultimate injustice for us on the cross of Calvary. As Paul teaches in Colossians 1:24 (NIV), “I am glad when I suffer… for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ.â€