look at it from an eternal perspective...

we are looking at the 8 attitudes for happiness that JESUS gave in his first sermon and the 8th one found in matthew 5.10-11 (ms) says, you're blessed when your commitment to GOD provokes persecution. the persecution drives you even deeper into GOD's kingdom… you can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!

a reason why you can be glad is because persecution is only temporary, it doesn't last very long.

paul over in 2 corinthians 4.17 (nlt) talks about this, for our present troubles…won't last very long. yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!

he says, we don't look at the things that are seen, we look at the things that are unseen. the things that are seen are temporary. they're not going to last. the things that are unseen are permanent.

paul had an eternal perspective and he said, "i'm going to spend 70, 80 years at the max here on earth. but i'm going to spend thousands, millions of years in eternity reaping the rewards of what i did with my life for 60, 70 years. what's more important?" he says, look at it from an eternal perspective.

when you get an eternal perspective all of a sudden all the cars, stereos, bmw's don't matter two bits. it's all going to burn up at the judgment. what is going to last is how i used my life now for the 70, 80 years and then i get to reap the rewards for millions of years. you will spend far more time on that side of eternity than you will on this side of eternity. make your life count.

so what? so you get persecuted. so you get put down. somebody laughs behind your back and calls you a holy joe, or a fanatic, or a JESUS freak? GOD's up there, checking it off, making records. it's only temporary. like the guy who was asked his favorite verse in the bible. he answered, it came to pass.

so he says rejoice, be glad. don't rejoice over the hurt! the goal of the CHRISTian life is not persecution but to be like JESUS. if you're like JESUS it is inevitable that somebody is not going to like it.

just a thought from the front porch…