This has made us question how we measure up to these faithful Christians. Very few of us have gone through the severe persecution that they did, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had trials in our life. All of us have faced different difficulties…what I have gone through has probably been entirely different than what you have faced…but that doesn’t diminish the pain and hurt that each of us have experienced. But as I prepared for this sermon, I came across a statement that spoke volumes to me…and it is this: “How we endure hardships matters more than what hardships we endure”.
You see, Jesus said that in this life we will have trouble. And many of us can say AMEN to that, I’m sure. Whatever the trouble – whether it’s illness or financial hardship or loss of loved one – we need to understand that how we endure matters more than what we endure. We need to make sure that we aren’t people who let trouble come between us and our Lord. Instead of moving away from God during times of difficulty, we need to make the effort to move closer to Him. We need to keep our problems in perspective. And we need to remember this – it’s when the pressure is on and times are tough that people are the most closely watching us.
It is so important for us to understand that how we endure hardship can greatly impact those around us positively or negatively. We need to realize that how we handle hardship can either increase - or tragically decrease - our witness to the unsaved. That may be one of the reasons God allows bad things to happen to Christians. He knows that when Christians endure hardship well, others notice and their acceptance of the message of Christ dramatically increases.
It's not some kind of fluke, that in proportion to the world’s population the church in Smyrna reached its greatest numbers during this period of persecution. It happened that way because people were watching and what they were seeing – the faith, the unquenchable hope, the courage and the endurance of so many Christians while they were under attack – it all worked together to open doors for the good news about Jesus.
And friends, people are watching you and me today. As they observe us in action, are they being influenced to open up their heart a little wider to receive Christ or are they being turned off to Jesus?
And most importantly, God is watching us. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the name Smyrna means Myrrh. Myrrh was a sweet-smelling perfume that was not only worn by the living but was also used in first century embalming practices. So, when the Christians in Smyrna were persecuted, their endurance rose up before God as something sweet and beautiful. Can the same be said of me? Can it be said of you?
Think of the difference between the smell of lilacs and a skunk. Which would you bring into your house and which would you want to keep out?
When the pressure is on and things get difficult…when you’re being unjustly pushed around and people you thought you could count on for support have turned on you and are squeezing the joy out of things, do you maintain a sweetness of spirit, like the Christians of Smyrna? Or do you react to life’s hardships and respond to the crud others dump on you by raising a little stink of your own? It’s pretty obvious isn’t it which kind of lifestyle others will gravitate to and desire to be like.
“How we endure hardships matters more than what hardships we endure.” This can be a hard concept to live out each day and I know it is something I personally struggle with. But with God’s help, we need to make sure that no matter what life throws our way, we are showing Jesus through our actions and our reactions. Because they are watching…and they need to see Jesus in us.
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