Pressing On

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 NIV

This verse really spoke to me this week...I guess mostly because the news about Pastor Kim and his wife really shook me. Out of all the churches I have attended this is the only one where I feel like my family in Christ is actually my family. Losing Pastor Kim and his wife is like having family members taken away from you. Thinking back all I ever received from either of them were genuine smiles, hugs, and how-are-you's...and I hardly share any history with them at all. This whole situation breaks my heart because I cannot even imagine the sacrifices the entire Kim family has made so willingly for the glory of God.

But that's really what we have to do, isn't it? I mean when it comes down to it, faith isn't about our church members or our leaders, it's about you and God. Giving up our past lives, lives of sin and worldy things...well it's not really much of a sacrifice if you think about how amazing it will be in dwelling in the heavenly kingdom of God. But that's not really to say that life on this earth is a breeze, and that once you accept Jesus Christ that your life will be perfect and you will never struggle with any sort of sin or temptation ever again. Quite the opposite actually; you'd probably be much more aware of sin and Satan's traps for you. Also I guess that like Pastor Kim, we will all be faced with situations where we must push on, the only thing keeping us on that path being our trust in God. This week I have been praying so hard for their family and the future of our church, but I know that each of us must persevere, press on for the glory of God and the hope of eternity with Him.