Jesus said that it is impossible for the rich to get into the kingdom of the God.“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”(Matthew 19:24) The rich could gratify himself with enjoying all kind of pleasures without any regrets on earth. But none of them could get into heaven because they loved enjoying pleasures far more than God. Jesus urged that human could be saved only by abandoning every worldly opportunity behind and following the Lord’s will. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Mathew19:28-29) Just like Jesus said, the disciples followed the Lord leaving everything they had. And they ended up being martyred for the Lord. In the eyes of the world, dying a martyr is inexpressibly miserable. But the disciples rejoiced that the will of the Lord was fulfilled through them to the point of death. They did not rejoice for the benefit of the flesh.
How was the life of John the Baptist, the last prophet? Born by divine revelation, he was the only son of the priest Zechariah, and was destined to succeed his father as priest. As such, he was treated with the utmost respect by the Jewish people. But John the Baptist did not refuse suffering hardships to prepare the way for the Lord. He rather cried out to the Jews to repent their sins and baptized them, living in wilderness, eating foods like grasshoppers and wild honey, leaving all possible honors behind. He ended up being beheaded right after finishing his mission, introducing Jesus as the Messiah. We could be persecuted or be suffered by our faith. But we should rejoice for the reward in heaven that will go greater by our pain on earth. And we should overcome all the worldly temptation and follow spiritual benefits.
Pastor Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #891
