“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:53)
Do you think that it’s going to hurt when you are glorified, will it cause pain and anxiety? Did it hurt when you were justified? Do you recall those moments of anguish when you finally came to the realization of what the Savior did for you on that cross, could you feel the spikes, did you have to turn your head when the mallet fell, tears running down your face?
Could you feel the anguish of being separated from the Father, the shame of the cross.
Did you experience the same ripping apart of your very soul as Peter did when he went out and wept bitterly.
I would ask you to pause for just a moment here and truly consider if that is how you felt before you acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, because my friends if you didn’t, then, well, I will leave you to that thought.
Does your sanctification hurt? It should. Does that duality of emotions tear you apart sometimes, the strong desires of the flesh and that of the mind of Christ within you, battling nearly constantly. Desiring the lust of the eyes and the flesh, wanting self-recognition for your achievements, vainglory, all that the world has to offer, those things that others have, does it bring great frustration to your soul. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) Easy to read, difficult to live to say the least. We cannot defeat the flesh, and those times that we ask the Most High to have His Holy Spirit remove those lusts and desires many times seems to go unheeded. Perhaps the frequency abates at times, but that old nature is always present, always screaming, always pleading for the things of the world.
The pain of sanctification, of being set apart from the world and the flesh, of being transformed is nearly constant, and it will not go away until we are glorified.
So, will it hurt when we are finally freed from this earthly body, when we receive our glorified body, will everything, as many falsely believe, be rainbows, puppies and blue skies forevermore? “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:4) My friends, that will not happen until the Almighty creates the new heaven and earth, over a thousand years from now.
We will watch and be employed by the Lord in whatever way He chooses during the Millennial period, witnessing the children of those who lived through the Tribulation period as they grow up in the Millennial time, sin residing in them, rebelling against the Most High, even as the Lord Jesus Christ sits on the throne of earth. Will He who will rule with the rods of iron and righteousness change you in such a way when you are glorified that you will feel no sorrow for them who will die in their sins then, as Satan is loosed from the chains holding him in the pit, will you feel anger as you watch him deceive the nations, great frustration as the sins of men once again exert their free will against the Lord of Glory?
Those who understand what it costs us personally to serve the Most High God understand these words, we are not expecting singing and praising His name, full of joy continuously, there is still much inner pain and sorrow to come my friends.
It should cost you something, it should mean something, something very deeply felt and personal to say the words, “I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.” In fact, it should cost you everything.
