Trials and Persecution

I was listening to the New Testament this morning on my new ZEN Mosaic mp3 player that I got for Christmas. I have read the Gospel of Mark before and heard it read but today these verses jumped out at me.

Mark 10:28-31

Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

John 15:20

Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

2 Thessalonians 1:4

Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

I don't understand then how Christians expect an easy life. Yes, there are blessings, but there are many trials too. We best not forget. Of course, it's easy to remember the trials when we are in the midst of them, isn't it?

God calls us to give up our way to follow Him. Might seem like a lot to ask, but He gives us back 100 times MORE than we gave up but we get persecutions too. We give up these things, now but now, we also get them back 100 fold and persecutions. Then he goes on to say that we get eternal life! I think we get a pretty good deal out of giving up our will to His.

What caught me though I think is that so many times you hear an always loving, God has a wonderful plan for your life gospel message. When I hear that I think, who's definition of wonderful are we going by??? The things that have happened to me in my life I wouldn't deem wonderful. But God does! Even the persecutions create us into who we are supposed to be in Him! So while God does have a great life for us here and now (100 fold what we gave up) and a wonderful life for us in heaven when we die, we need to not forget that there will be persecution as well.

Just some scattered thoughts on what I heard this morning.