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Anyone that loves stories knows how common it is for even the greatest of stories to get misconstrued or morphed into something that they weren’t originally intended to be. No matter how descriptively or eloquently someone writes, there will always be some variance in how people infer meaning to certain aspects of the story. And I unfortunately think that we do the same thing with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Going to church in America means that you have probably been told that God wants to bless you beyond what you can imagine; He wants you to prosper and have a good life. And while all of that is true, it still misses the true point of the gospel. God does want you to have a good and blessed life. God does want you to have peace, joy, and love. Where the disconnect seems to enter the picture in how we see our “reward”—because that’s how we treat it—is when we remove eternity from the picture.
Think about every day that you have ever lived. Think about all of the good times, the bad times, the things you regret—everything. Now think about all of the days ahead of you in this life. Think that one day they will end? If so, then the tendrils of deception might be closer to you than you think. There is no ultimate death in the way that we think about death; there is only the end of one chapter, and beginning another in the story that is our life.
Blessings from God in eternity far outweigh the blessings we could get now. I mean just think about it. Imagine thinking God really would rather bless you with a brand new car when He really just wants you to latch on to the gift He has given you for free: Jesus Christ, the greatest gift ever given, out of love for you.
God isn’t looking for you to work your way towards His blessing. He is simply waiting for you to open the door that He has already placed ahead of you. It isn’t one that leads to no bad days—it actually necessitates them to a certain degree, actually—but it does lead you down the road towards eternal love.
There will be bad days in life riddled with problems from your sin, the sin of others, and the burden that mankind’s collective sin places on us. God has already dealt with that. He isn’t asking for no bad days. In fact, He knows you can’t possibly go a single second without knowingly or unknowingly breaking His law. He only asks that you open the door that was already built for you to open from the very beginning.
Priorities!