Everlasting Kingdom

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

           

            I can’t hear this message enough. I constantly need to be reminded that all pursuits that aren’t Jesus will not lead to what I’m looking for whether that be comfort, love, happiness, etc. and that the only way I will find true life is if I give up those worldly pursuits in favor of a life following Him.

            This calling to give up our worldly pursuits and lives and follow Jesus is definitely tough, but I’m always encouraged when I read things like Daniel’s vision that the Living God gave to him, where Daniel sees these ferocious, animalistic beasts that represent various kingdoms come before God to be judged.

            Now I had never fully read this chapter so I went and read through it to get a better idea of what Daniel saw in his vision and it did not disappoint! He describes these powerful, terrifying beasts that had authority to rule and seemed like they couldn’t be stopped. But when brought before God for judgment, one was destroyed and the other three stripped of all their power. Instead, the one like a Son of Man (Jesus) “was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him.”

            How cool is that? Jesus, not anyone or anything else was given authority and power over all. These “beasts” can represent the things in our lives that seem too powerful for us to overcome or defeat on our own, but the good news is God can destroy and strip them of all of their power! Jesus’ is the everlasting kingdom, the one that will never be defeated or destroyed, and all we have to do is follow Him!

            Recognizing that God triumphs over all definitely helps me re-focus my gaze on God and His will for my life, instead of my own selfish goals or ambitions. I can take comfort in the fact that as a disciple of Jesus I will be uncomfortable, because a life following Jesus doesn’t mean security and comfort, but instead sacrificial service.

-JDK