I wish we could update the melody but the words to that hymn are great! I’m not sure why it didn’t make the cut for our current hymnal but in case you don’t know the words, here is the chorus…”It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus! Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ. One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase. So, bravely run the race, till we see Christ.” We sang that song a lot in Bible College chapel. A good number of people that attended Spurgeon Baptist Bible College had left established careers because of “the call.” Most of us were working full time, going to school full time and we were expected to love our families well and be involved in our local church. We lived on little sleep, lots of prayer, too much coffee and more carbs than protein. I joke with people that I have been tired since 1981. That was the year we started living like that. I graduated in 1984 and thankfully we were never promised riches, prestige or comfort. Our professors promised hardship, loss, hurt and Him. We were reminded that life and ministry is about sacrifice, pain and occasional blessing. But in spite of the groaning of this life, we had assurance that God is with us and that the best is yet to come. I know to some people that seems like “pie-in-the-sky” ideology but I believe in God and I believe He has preserved His Word and He said His generosity is going to surprise us. His generosity is not limited to the there and then, it is evident in the here and now. I struggled leaving the farm and my small hometown but wow, I sure would have missed a lot had I said, “No.” I have a thousand more friends and I’ve experienced blessings too numerous to mention. We have a generous Dad. Jesus taught (Matthew 20) that the Father is far better than we imagine. The enemy and our own bent toward evil causes us to doubt God’s goodness to our peril. If you are facing a choice right now of doing the right thing with loss or doing the wrong thing with gain, please take Jesus at His Word. Any loss you experience for His sake will be more than cared for in this life and/or the life to come. I would only remind you of one thing…trust Him for the outcomes. Please don’t “set terms” with God or demand immediate recognition or compensation. If you do, you may well get what you want but it is all you’ll get. The Father is more generous than we can imagine. Let’s “do the right thing and watch Him bail us out.” It will be worth it all…