Today’s Word: Last night I made the long walk out to the deer blind in the hopes of taking a prize buck. Not only was the 80 degree weather rather uncomfortable, the misquotes were out in full force. With no repellent, it was open season. The hunter became the hunted. So with my bow on the ground, I meticulously attempted to killed each mosquito that dared to enter my blind. Every once in a while one kamikaze would make it past my defenses, yet I was able to maintain a perimeter.
As the sun began to set, I was amazed at how many misquotes I had killed. A person might ask, “Why go through all of that annoyance?” The answer is simple: to get the prize! In the book of Revelation, Jesus had a message to the Church in Ephesus. Jesus edified the church for their perseverance against wickedness, and said, “He who has an ear, let hem hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7).
We are all called to overcome wickedness in our lives. Not that we could do that on our own, yet through Christ we now have the power to overcome sin. Wickedness functions much like the misquotes in my blind. It constantly works to keep us off balance in our spiritual walk. Temptations can keep us so focused on what is going on inside the blind, that we fail to see the prize standing just outside. And what a great prize it is. For those who overcome, we will have the right to eat of the Tree of Life. What is the tree of life? It is basically eternal life in Christ.
The word of the day is that we must suffer like Christ suffered; moreover, like Christ, we will be made perfect through our suffering (Heb. 2:10). Therefore, let us rejoice in our sufferings, for it is through our sufferings that we receive a hope that will not disappoint (Rom. 5:3-4). We will struggle against wickedness in this life, and the mosquitoes will still be there when I go back to the stand tonight. Yet the hope to attaining the prize far exceeds the inconvenience of sitting in the blind. Happy hunting…