We live in the valley of tears where pain, suffering, and death persist. Not only is life in general sometimes hard to bear, but it’s also tough to consistently live a virtuous life and say no to all the temptations that come our way. While following the path of Jesus is not an easy one, Jesus says to rejoice, for our reward will be great in Heaven.
Working at a job gives us money and succeeding at tasks in this life usually gains us recognition. However, being a good Christian and doing the right thing often requires self sacrifice and usually gets little to no recognition. There’s little motivation to follow the hard and narrow road to Jesus when a wide and easy road exists.
The problem with the easy road is that while it’s pain free to travel, when we reach the end of it, we are left in the middle of nowhere with nothing. The narrow road is difficult to traverse, but it leads us to the treasure our soul has been longing for. We need hope in a world that is full of negativity, depression, and spiritually meaningless rewards. Jesus gives us that hope.
Think about investing. If we don’t invest our money throughout our life, we will find ourselves broke or working for a longer time. When we consistently invest our money, we will have enough to enjoy retirement and hopefully even have some to leave behind for future generations. Also, the younger we start investing, the more wealth we can gain in our later years. Heaven is often described as a mustard seed that is planted as a small seed, but matures as a large plant. The small good works we plant in this life mature into a magnificent garden in Heaven. The more we plant, the more beautiful and abundant the garden will be. If we invest in doing good works throughout our lives, we will rejoice when we see our spoils in Heaven. We will also hopefully leave some of our goodness that we planted during our lives for future generations as well. Just think about someone who impacted your life in a positive way and how you are still partaking in the fruit they planted in your life long after they are gone.
It’s ok to feel sad, lonely, and depressed, but remember that unending joy awaits us if we just stay focused enough to remain on the right path. Don’t let our feelings in this short life to cause us to stray from our path to eternity in Heaven. Too many people have mentally and emotionally checked out of life and have lost focus of what is truly important. Don’t hide in the shade of despair, but soak up the light and you will be like the mustard seed that grows to be great in Heaven. There you will bask in the light of our Father for all eternity.
