The Good LifeSample

These are the words Jesus spoke to John the Baptist when John was in prison. John had sent messengers to Jesus asking if Jesus was the One everyone had been waiting for. Jesus answered John’s messengers. Jesus quoted a passage from Isaiah about how the blind will receive sight and the lame will walk (Isaiah 61:1-3). He quoted a list of things He was going to do. But Jesus left out one part of the passage—He left out the part about setting the prisoners free. In other words, Jesus knew John wasn’t going to get out of prison. Then, Jesus went on to say, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me” (Luke 7:23). Sometime later, John was beheaded. He lost his life because he followed Jesus. The sad reality of life is this: Some people’s lives on this side of heaven are going to be a struggle, and their stories might not end well. Some of our lives will not improve until we see Jesus. But when we see Jesus face-to-face, when we’re with our restored loved ones, when we experience what it’s like to live in a world without any sadness (Revelation 21:5), we will see that all of it—even the hardest of the hard—has all been worth it. God’s Kingdom is the greatest treasure.