Why must we lose everything?
As our life progresses, it seems that we are incrementally losing everything that's most important to us. We come into this physical world with nothing, and we will leave it with nothing. We lose our health, our loved ones, our friends, all of our possessions, sometimes perhaps due to health issues and/or a lapse in mental capacity while still physically alive.
We are all destined to lose all we have worked for and all we have built-up in life when we physically die, and possibly to some degree while we're still living, especially if health issues or advanced age causes us to succumb to our infirmities, and we can no longer enjoy the physical or mental activities we used to take for granted.
But, it's all for one very important purpose according to God's will. It's God's way of illustrating how much we need him. Once we recognize this as we mature in our Christian faith, our losses during our physical life will not be as tragic as we might otherwise think, especially in the moment when we lose a loved one.
That's the message of hope, and the reassurance of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent to this earth as a messenger to enlighten mankind. Through Jesus Christ we can retain all that we otherwise think we're going to be losing upon physical death, and then some, if we will only believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.
Then, we can also count on heavenly rewards if we surrender "self" to the commandments given by Jesus Christ, and if we do the Will of God. We have the hope and faith that we will retain all that we formerly perceived as being losses upon our physical death, along with the prospect of gaining a lot more than we ever imagined, and even more than we had before physical death.
This is the promise of Jesus Christ and God according to the New Testament of the Bible. There simply is no wise alternative to believing in God, and accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. Jesus Christ is our Savior from judgement, isolation from God, and the loss of the benefits of being faithful to Jesus Christ and God. These promises of God are all at stake, and it's up to us to accept or reject them.
Oh, we can have our way, engaging in only our own selfish endeavors, and in that process, rejecting the promises of God and the truths in the Bible. But, if we choose to do that, once our lives are over, the Bible promises that we will permanently lose everything. If we're skeptical of God's promises, and of the inerrancy of the Bible, then we risk it all, just on a very foolish and spiritually insensitive idea that the promises of God are a lie?
Why chance it, to gain the respect of mankind, so we don't appear foolish to mankind, and don't have to endure the "rolled eyes" of a lost and degenerate mankind, whose works God's says in the Bible are like filthy rags? Consider this, that mankind has a predisposition to sin, which means mankind has a predisposition to doubt God's promises.
"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."
"They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend."
Ezekiel 12:2
“Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house."
What do we get if our natural disbelief motivates us to reject the promises of God, and the inerrancy of the Bible? We get nothing, because we will be dead according to that belief. So, what's the prize we win if we reject God's truth and promises, and the inerrancy of the Bible if we believe that during our physical life, denying God and Jesus Christ. What if we find out upon our physical death that God's promises as presented in the Bible are all true?
What do we get if we're right about our unbelief? Nobody will care about what we thought about God's promises being "foolish," as we pander to mankind's prophesied disbelief. Our opinions will also be dead along with us, forgotten very soon after we die, and there will be no hope for a future everlasting life in paradise once we're already dead and come to the frightening realization that God's promises are true, as we will find that out as we enter into our spiritual existence, which is prophesied to be terrible torment.
There is simply no upside to rejection of God's truth, and the inerrancy of the Bible. God gave us free will, and we can decide to reject his truth and His promises. But, that responsibility and the consequences of being wrong will be ours. But, if the Bible, and the promises of God are true, and we believe in them, offering Him our faith, then we stand to gain eternal life, and potentially a very substantial reward upon physical death, depending on the extent of our selfless sacrifices while we were still physically living.
Rejection of God's truths will result in not only our physical death, but also our spiritual death, and the prospect of everlasting life and heavenly rewards will be lost forever. If we physically die in our disbelief, God says it will be too late. God says there will be no going back, and no second chances (Hebrews 9:27, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31).
Mankind has a natural blindness to God's truths, and unless God enlightens us to His truths, we will not believe, as we're naturally blind and deaf to spiritual truths due to our sinful nature, it's part of our DNA. But, those who seek God, and turn to Jesus Christ, can receive all of God's promises. Jesus said, "Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them" (John 6:37).
With respect to rewards in heaven, apart from Salvation, Jesus said it would not be easy to take up our own crosses and follow him. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12).
Surrendering self won't guarantee that we will not experience trials while we live in the flesh on this earth. Salvation is a gift by the grace of God, if we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and as the Savior of mankind. But, denying self according to God's commandments carries an additional consideration with respect to our aspiring to receive the best of heavenly spiritual rewards, in addition to our accepting the gift of God, which is everlasting life.
We definitely will be tested if we aspire to also receiving the best of heavenly spiritual rewards in addition to Salvation. How else can God evaluate our behavior in exchange for heavenly spiritual rewards? Surrendering our will, and giving Him our obedience to His commandments, our faith, and our commitment to do His Will guarantees that all we have perceived in the flesh as "losses" upon our physical death, will be regained, and then some, as we pass into eternity in the presence of God upon physical death.
We can decide to reject God's promises, and the inerrancy of the Bible, acting as skeptics, and proceeding to live our short lives, lucky if we live 100 years, or we can reject self, and choose to put our faith in God's promises, believing in the inerrancy of the Bible, and potentially living on in paradise for eternity, versus a mere 100 years of physical life, more or less. It is up to us to make that choice, and we can't blame God if the consequences of our rejection haunt us for eternity. Individuals seal their own fate through choosing belief or non-belief.
Individually, God has arranged it so that we can very easily secure our own fate with respect to Salvation by simply believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and relying on Him as our Savior. But, we are also told that it will not be so easy with respect to accruing the best of spiritual rewards in heaven. That's why taking up our crosses, and following Him, will be a very difficult journey.
Taking up our crosses could mean potentially giving up our hopes, dreams, possessions, how we are perceived by non-believers, and even our lives. Jesus illustrated what taking up our own crosses could mean for us as his disciples by selflessly going willingly to the cross to give mankind God's gift of salvation. Jesus said "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16:25).
So, taking up our crosses will be well worth it in the end with respect to the spiritual rewards we receive when we get to heaven, but it will involve selfless sacrifice, even sometimes to the point of enduring physical death in exchange for the best of spiritual rewards in heaven.
For most of us, we won't have to endure the self sacrifice of physical death as a testimonial of our faith in God and Jesus Christ. For most of us, our self sacrifice will be a self sacrifice of our own selfishness as we follow the commandments of Jesus Christ. These are self sacrifices that are typically not resulting in physical death, but for those in some countries, physical death from persecution upon those who exhibit a belief in God and Jesus Christ is a vivid reality.
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