Trusting His promises and serving Him well.
One of the most passionate statements in the bible is told by a Jewish girl who turned queen. When she had to step up for the salvation of her people, she couldn't have been any less passionate. Her uncle Mordecai, unlike many Christian parents today, encourages and arouses the passion in the heart of the girl whom he loved like his own daughter. Instead of telling her to somehow protect her position as the queen no matter what happens, he tells her to be part of God's plan, no matter the price. If it hadn't been for Mordecai's push in the right direction, God would have carried on His plan to rescue His people, but sadly, without Esther.(Esther 4:14) Thankfully, Mordecai helped Esther see the purpose of her position as Queen. With the newly awakened passion and fervor, she made this statement, "If I perish, I perish!".(Esther 4:16) Esther who lacked any sense of purpose a few moments before, was now saying, "Whatever the cost, I am going to stand up for my people. If I die doing it, I die. My role may or may not change things, but I'll take the risk anyway!".
But those words got me thinking in recent times again, especially in the light of the New Testament. What happens to a child of God, when we perish here? Is it that we perish, if we perish, like Esther says? Paul writes to the church at Corinth, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," (2 Corinthians 4:16-17, ESV). Or, in other words, if Paul were to say something similar, he'd have probably said,
"If I die, then great!".
"If I have to give up everything I have, then great!".
"If I have to give up my degree, then great!".
"If I have to take up a difficult assignment, then great!".
"If I have to deal with difficult people, then great!".
"If I have to suffer loneliness, then great!".
"If I have to be at a difficult place, then great!".
It was all great because it was all for the sake of Christ. He saw that God's hand was preparing for him a glorious eternity in the light of these situations. He wasn't simply going around, searching for trouble and persecution but knew that obedience to God came at a cost and knew that such suffering wasn't meaningless. Paul was aware of the final prize awaiting a believer as he saw the big picture and that brought a sense of joy as he made difficult choices and endured difficult situations. He constantly lived with a desire to do God's will and yearned for fellowship in the sufferings of Jesus. (Philippians 3:10)
Dr. Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor to Congo, who was brutally raped by a group of rebel soldiers during her time there, reflected the mindset of Paul when she said, "There really is no cost, only the privilege of serving the King of Kings." She retells of the question God asked her as she went through that difficult time - "Can you thank Me for trusting you with this, even if I never tell you why?” When you go through those tough times and pay the price of obedience, can you think of what privilege God gives you with opportunities to glorify Him? Can God trust you with what He has placed in your life today? And will you thank Him for trusting you?
Esther didn't know all of what Paul knew about the afterlife. But with whatever limited knowledge she had, she chose to obey God. Paul in comparison had a fuller picture living in the New Testament period. All His knowledge drove Him to obedience. We too, like Paul know much more than Esther did about Calvary, the Commission, and the Coming Kingdom. Yet, very few of us share the same passion as Esther in godly matters. We are afraid to make use of the opportunities to serve God. Questions and doubts shadow our minds.
What will happen to me?
How much will I have to give up?
Will I be ok?
Will my spouse and children be ok?
Who will take care of me?
These self-centered questions on our short earthly lives slowly kill the desire to serve God. Though God has answered our doubts with His promises, we are mostly left today with countless unmade decisions that would have otherwise made great impact on our lives and others.
Doing the will of God will take us through a path of suffering, sacrifice, and self-denial. The Bible doesn't give us an alternative. But, the Bible also tells us that if our bodies perish here in service to the King, our glorious life with Jesus will have only begun. Paul tells us that we will have new, restored, supernatural, incorruptible, and permanent bodies. "For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality."(1 Corinthians 15:53) Dear reader, we will never perish serving the King! With Paul, we too can look at the face of death and say,
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”(1 Corinthians 15:55).
We could have never said or thought of saying something like this! "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."(1 Corinthians 15:57)
Our end is made known to us - and it is a glorious one!
Jesus won this victory for us over death so that we needn't live our lives afraid of our final fate. Our end is made known to us - and it is a glorious one! Our lives and decisions should be a reflection of this hope for our future. We ought to remember that even the smallest things we do, when done for Him, is not in vain but store up for us eternal treasures. None of us are ever going to heaven to regret giving God too much! Oh when we behold His beauty in all fullness, we'll wish we had given Him more!
"By and by when I look on His face,
Beautiful face, Thorn-shadowed face.
By and by when I look on His face,
I'll wish I had given Him more.
More, so much more;
More of my life than I e'er gave before.
By and by when I look on His face,
I'll wish I had given Him more."
May we have the same passion as Esther and the same hope as Paul, to lay down our lives as a pleasing service to the King - daily.
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