Our reward in heaven is so much greater

It is good to praise the Lord,
and make music to your name, O most High

to proclaim your love in the morning,
and your faithfulness at night

Psalm 29:1-2

It's really weird sometimes how much an effect peer pressure can have on you when you're at school. So many times I am tempted to stray from my walk with God when I hear my nonbelievers talking about going to crazy parties and other activities. I mean, not that I am particularly interested in drinking or doing drugs or any sort of thing like that. Even for just a brief moment, I feel like I've missed out, because people always are recounting these events with stories full of laughter and smiles that I wish I would've been there to have fun with them. I've found that this fleeting feeling has had much more of a presence as I get older each year and my peers are starting to live lives consumed with more and more temporal thrills. But sometimes it feels like you're an outsider, kind of like you know you're forbidden from doing any such thing because you are supposed to be living a life of holiness. Truly there have been some times where I feel like I need to break out of this "entrapment" I have let myself fall into, this "church-goer" stereotype that people often assume with Christians. I especially know this feeling of frustration is true for many pastor kids I've met, "p.k's", who feel like they need to prove themselves to the world and act out so that they will not be judged based on preconceptions.

But I always do come back to the conclusion that this is the wrong sort of attitude I should have towards my faith in God. Faith should not be treated as a burden; it is God's gift. Why am I jealous of these unbelievers when I have something that is unknown to their sinful hearts? To be jealous of worldly things....why bother? They will pass soon enough, and I have something so much better that all those unbelievers don't have. The world tries to capture us with catch phrases such as : "c'est la vie!", "live in the moment", "live life on the edge". Notice that all of these phrases are based on the notion of life on this earth...if you think about it, they all treat the life they have now as the only thing they've got, telling you to use every moment to live it in thrill and excitement to make sure your life is not a wasted one. For unbelievers, this life really pretty much is all they've got. But that is where the beauty of God's grace comes in. We as believer shall not waste our lives on this earth on the thrills that this world has to offer. Our eyes are turned towards something else that we shall receive when we see His face. We shall receive something that will last forever, something that will be amazing and greater than anything else we have ever experienced; eternal life. I am blessed by Jesus' blood, by God's grace, and most importantly, His love; that in itself, is good enough for me.


Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven….
Matthew 5:12