Victory in Jesus!

 

I absolutely love the song, Victory in Jesus. The tempo and words are so encouraging. However, (you knew there had to be a condition, or this would be a Twitter post, not a blog) there is a problem not with the song but with how we interpret the idea of victory. Victory as many see it is everything being great in the here and now. Victory is everyone saying how they love us or at least respect us. Victory is us standing at the finish line arms raised high or in the end zone spiking the football in Christian love, of course. Victory isn't that in the world and isn't what Jesus told us it would be.

Often times victory is a hard-won thing. Victory means battles and losses. Victory more often than not meant long hard fights and falling over the finish line or being tackled into the end zone. Victory sometimes means death. Even the often celebrated sports stars spend years pushing their bodies to near breaking or to breaking and then not always winning the prize. Talk to a person whose side won the war but they lost a son or daughter about victory. Victory isn't easy.

Shouldn't it be easy for a Christian? We have Jesus right? Yes, we have Jesus, and the Scriptures say that He will work all things together for good but look at the context of Romans 8:28. 

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later...And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us...And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them...Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)  Edited for space.

Jesus's words over and over tell the disciples that his followers will suffer. However, they will be victorious.

My reason for sharing this isn't to discourage anyone but for you to take a real look at what victory may cost. Victory isn't fun in the process. Even for those who aren't Christians, victory requires a cost. Consider this, however. losing or not trying at all always leads to a bad place. 

The benefit to following Christ is that the victory is certain no matter the cost or what evil may come. I don't want you discouraged and give up when tough times come and gaining victory is hard.  In the battle or in this world we may not feel like singing, but someday we will. 

We have Victory in Jesus.