Lent Devotion | Day 26
In this verse, we see two certain realities: 1) the followers of Jesus will suffer, and 2) Jesus has already won the victory. He didn’t want his disciples to be under the delusion that their future would be full of ease and comfort, and he doesn’t want us to think that either.
Following Christ is difficult and there will be opposition. Yet, Easter reminds us about the reality of Christ’s victory over sin and death via his own death and resurrection that provides peace and courage in the midst of that opposition. Easter reminds us that the finished work of Christ removes the teeth from suffering. He provides us a certain future — a “living hope through the resurrection” and “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” It is because of this reality that we can “take heart” and “be of good courage.”
