“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mar 8:35-36 NKJ)

Yesterday we looked at Mark 13, and I gave you a rather lengthy historical discourse to put that scripture in context.  Persecution was everywhere, groups were fighting each other, and there were those who wanted to play both sides of the fence.  The Zealots on one side wanted to fight, the religious hierarchy on the other side wanted to calm things down and placate the Romans.  Into the midst of all this, Jesus gave birth to his Church.  When you understand all this, the Revelation of Christ, written by John, makes sense.

As a Christian, eternal life was not to be a source of worry or concern, they were to take the gospel and share it with whomsoever. John tells the Christians in the Book of Revelation that no matter what they experience, Jesus is right there with them. So, like Paul, John, Peter and James tell us, in various ways, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” (Jam 1:2 NKJ)

The danger for us today is not persecution, but complacency, being lazy and lukewarm.  We should thank God for the grace we have, but prepare ourselves for whatever the future holds.