Nothing Compares – September 4, 2023

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18

Nothing Compares

Imagine three identical rooms. Each room is occupied by one individual. You tell the three individuals, “You will stay in this room for twelve months. Every week, you will work eighty hours. The work will be joyful and fulfilling. But at random times, for unexplainable reasons, for unpredictable periods of time, your work will be frustratingly hard.”

You say to the first, “Stick with it, and at the end of the year, you will receive an annual salary of $10,000.”

To the second, “Endure the year, and you will receive an annual salary of $100 million.”

To the third, you say, “Work hard, you have twelve months to live.”

You put each of them in their personal rooms, and they get to work.

After one month, the first subject quits. The reward was not worth the frustration. The third subject does not even last a day. “If I only have twelve months to live, I’m going to make the most of the time I have left.” However, the second subject keeps working with joy and finishes the twelve months with a smile on his face.

What makes the difference? Each person had the same circumstances. Yet each had the promise of a different reward. The greater the reward, the more resilient the worker. And without a reward, why suffer through the work?

Suffering is a fact of life. We all experience it. But those who know Jesus as their Savior from sin who promises eternal life in a perfect paradise can be sure that whatever they suffer in this life is nothing compared to the joys they will experience in the next life.

The apostle Paul says the current way of things—the momentary frustrations, fears, and failures—has a term limit. When Christ returns, he will make all things new. A new heavens and earth. A new life. A new you.

God grant that you may grasp the mind-blowing magnificence of God’s eternal reward of grace. Then all your present sufferings will feel as light as a feather.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when I must suffer my crosses, keep me focused on the victory won for me by Christ and his cross. Amen.