Read Luke 12:1b-4. It’s Worth It.
Jesus is speaking to a crowd of thousands of people. Jesus warns the people to be aware of the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. People looked at Pharisees as being very important people. They wanted to get on the good side of the Pharisees because they had power, prestige, and popularity. Pharisees loved being recognized. Sadly, though, they were living two lives. They were hypocrites.
Jesus said that a person can’t hide or camouflage their hypocrisy. Eventually it will be known and seen by others. You might think a person who has power, prestige, or popularity are great, and are living a great life, but not necessarily. Anything hidden is temporary and it will eventually be brought to the surface and exposed. If not dealt with, it brings death. Hypocrisy kills the soul for eternity.
It starts small. We hide certain sins that we do in secret or behind closed doors. We play with fire and unless we take it to the Cross daily, it becomes a part of our everyday life. It becomes apart of our daily routines. It becomes natural. Eventually we get burned. Our sin finds us out and we suffer consequences that we could have prevented but we squelched the voice of the Holy Spirit. We ignored the conviction we felt in our hearts.
Now what? Good news! God is ready to take us back and he wants to give us his Holy Spirit so we can live a life of victory. Is it hard? Yes, but it’s worth it! Honestly, life is hard for Christians and non-Christians. The good news is, as followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit to walk us through everyday challenges. He helps us in our repenting / transformation process. We begin to look more and more like Jesus. The even greater news is: we receive a great reward at the end of life.
James 1:12 says, “Blessed are those who persevere under trials because once they have stood the test they will receive the crown of Life the God has promised to those who love him.” Is life hard? Yes! But being faithful to God is worth it even if the rest of the world looks so good to the eyes. But take Jesus’ warning, it leads to a death of fire, for eternity.
