We Are the Champions
READ: Revelation 2:10-11
Every year millions of fans get excited for football season. At the end of the season, one team will be crowned World Champions. The excitement over that team's Super Bowl victory takes a long time to totally die down, and the story of their extraordinary season will be often be told over and over for many years. The team overcomes obstacles, such as tough losses and injuries to star players, to become victors. They now have Super Bowl rings to show off to everyone.
As Christians, we will be champions, too. However, we will not become champions because of what we do, but because of what Jesus has done for us in his death on the cross. God gives us faith and helps us endure persecution through that faith, so that in the end, we will inherit eternal life.
In Revelation 2:10, God says that “the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.” Our life is not easy. As Christians we may be persecuted for our beliefs. Perhaps you will not be thrown in prison, but some people have been. Many countries still persecute Christians and declare Christianity illegal. For instance, maybe you remember the story of Ger Yang, a missionary in Asia. He was killed because many people in his country hated what he was saying. Even here in the United States, with religious freedom, people are sometimes jailed for expressing their Christian beliefs when protesting abortion.
Through faith, we will receive “the crown of life.” (The Greek word for crown in Rev. 2:10 refers to a victor’s crown, like the ones made of leaves awarded in the early Olympic Games.) Our crown, unlike the laurel leaves or Super Bowl rings, won’t wilt or tarnish. An NFL team won’t be champions forever, and eventually their glory will once again fade. Our glory, thanks to Jesus, will last forever. In heaven we will experience bliss and will “not be hurt at all by the second death.” We’ll be everlasting champions!
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: What are some subtle ways that we are persecuted as Christians today? What can we do to keep our faith strong during these hard times n life? What is meant when God says that if we die a believer, we will not be hurt at all by “the second death?”
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Thank God for the religious freedom which we enjoy in this country. Ask God to strengthen your faith when we are looked down upon or insulted for worshipping him. Ask the Spirit to use our words and the witness of our actions to change hostile hearts.