Luke 21:5 Jesus said, "All that you see here--the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
Imagine touring the most beautiful building in the world with the architect, taking in the stunning colors and perfect architecture. You may have been in a great church or structure in the past that evokes these memories. Then imagine the builder telling saying, "look at it now because soon we'll be tearing it down." This was the case with the disciples of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke this weekend. Jesus and his friends went to the temple and he begins a discourse telling them that what had been the symbol of their faith was to be destroyed. Our Lord goes on to weave three subjects into this discourse: The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself, the end of the world and his coming in glory again. All of this is mingled with the coming persecution of Christians. He implores them to be mindful that there will be sin and destruction, but by your endurance you will give witness to truth. You may suffer and die but your perseverance will secure your life heaven. There will be many temptations to follow worldly things. Jesus warns us not to be deceived. We can be deceived by worldly things but these will not give us eternal happiness. Sin is short lived and the evil one deceives us with nice things. But these things distract us from the Father. When we turn away from these things we can be persecuted, mocked, pressured to go a different direction. We may be pressured to go against our beliefs or compromise our values. Don't give in! Let me remind you that when you stand for truth, you will be put to the test. Many of our leaders and elected officials are pressured to do things that might not conform to Godly things. They cave to the pressure of society and what "feels right." Being a Christian is not easy. Jesus carried his cross—we have to carry ours. The difference is that when ours gets heavy, we can give our burdens to him. Although Jesus is not here in the flesh, the Holy Spirit is always present to guide us. Have courage to let the Spirit lead you to walk in righteousness every day.
