One very big advantage of becoming a Christian and choosing God to be in charge of our lives, is this tremendous promise:
"'I tell you the truth,' Jesus replied, 'no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields --and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.'" Mark 10:29,30
Yes, even Christians must suffer, and sometimes we must endure persecutions, but the promise of Jesus makes it abundantly clear that for most of us, we will receive from him ONE HUNDRED TIMES more than anything we give up to follow and serve him! And Jesus said that would be IN THIS LIFE, while I'm still down here on this wretched, sin-ravaged planet!
This is such a good promise that we would most assuredly be tempted to doubt its validity, so God has given us Biblical examples of folks who put their trust in Him, and in doing so, God went to work to bless their lives superabundantly, even in the midst of hostile enemies:
Abraham left his city and parents to follow after God, and even though he was constantly surrounded by Godless Pagans, the Lord blessed, protected and made him rich. Genesis 13:1,2
Isaac lived in the midst of hostile Philistines, where the Lord not only protected him, but also caused his fields to produce a hundred times more crops than his neighbors, which made Isaac a very wealthy man. Genesis 26:12,13
I could go on, citing the HUNDREDFOLD blessings that God gave to Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Esther, Ruth, Mordecai, Daniel, Job and many others. Yes, they all endured suffering, but God's blessings on them were far greater than their pain, and our Loving God has given this same hundredfold promise to ALL His followers, including you!
