By: Craig Rippy

  Life's tough, and then you die. If you're in Jesus you go to heaven.

I've used that phrase several times. I believe it states a reality accurately and concisely.

No, living isn't always hard and painful, but it can be, and is for many people.

Here in St. James, Missouri we can be insulated. If we were to go to the gulf coast now we'd see people struggling due to hurricane damage. The inner cities have poverty, homelessness, disease and crime. Political centers are filled with diversity, the wealthy and powerful opposed to the poor and desperate.

The USA seems less affected than other nations. Some countries are plagued with disease and poverty. Crime seems highest in places like this. In Southeast Asia daughters are snatched and sold as sex slaves. In Northern Europe the elderly may be dependant upon the mood of a state funded care facility to make the decision as to whether their life is important enough to spend the extra for an in-home nurse. Central and South America seem to be at the mercy of crime lords wanting to sell their drugs to wealthy North Americans.

The governments of the world seem incapable of catching one terrorist leader (Osama bin Laden), let alone put much of a dent in the other harmful things going on. So, what hope can we invest in them?

Back home we find illness, lack of finances, strained relationships, and other real issues affecting us. We are not immune to hardship and emotional struggles. Anyone who has a parent who is ill, and cares for them as well as for their personal family knows the stress that love endures. The family with a handicapped member understands the limitations it places on each member. Even though there is a loving desire to give our best to our family member we still experience tension.

If it meant leaving a loved one in need, to change a situation, most would consider it unthinkable. Example, most wouldn't leave the crime ridden neighborhood if it meant leaving those we love behind.

The United States is a target for Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorists, but I don't see a wave of our citizens leaving the country. Most poor North Koreans can't afford to move their families to safer countries, so they endure.

The point is "Life's tough!"

The next point is "Then you die." Some seem to have one terrible experience after another. Others, like most of us, have intermittent difficulties. Yet, all have adversities. Hopefully, your hard times have been short and relatively painless. But, whether your hardships are minor or continually taxing, you will die (Hebrews 9:27).

Point three is our strength. Being in Jesus gives us strength for the present and hope for the future. The Apostle Paul wrote, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Paul lists several hardships prior to making this statement in Philippians 4:13. Without Jesus one isn't promised extraordinary strength. With Jesus we stand in the Grace of God while we live life in this tough world.

Hope for the present is promised as we live and serve in Jesus. Also, hope for eternity is assured by the Word of God. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

It seems to me that a life lived without Jesus is a waste. One can waste opportunities of greater strength by rejecting Jesus. Some will also look back from the judgement to recognize the waste of never having the hope of eternal life, and then can only look to a future of continual pain in the torment of hell for an eternity. The tribulations any of us face today will be nothing compared to the agony experienced in hell.

The necessity of having the strength to live and to be prepared for eternal life is found in 1st Thessalonians 2:13, And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. (NIV)