Something interesting my mom and I talked about the other day, and I shall share that with you. (Yoda phrasing there I did. Purposely not but Star Wars just the other day I watched. Stop I shall now.)
Finland is famous for numerous things, and one of the major ones is the SAUNA :) If you have never heard of it before, check it out here quickly before you carry on : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna. An interesting though irrelevant fact about saunas which I found from a survey I did for biology last year, is that 29 out of 30 people after having a sauna feel more happy and content with life, relaxed and stress free. (the one out of 30 who didn't think this was my sister and she doesn't really count as she hasn't been exposed to saunas due to living abroad so much, so we'll excuse her.)
If you've ever been in a sauna you will know that it gets quite hot in there. I've been in +110¤. Doesn't it sound crazy? Why would someone do that to themselves, right? That's the interesting thing. You bear it, because you know you will get out. Same as once you do get out you enjoy rolling in the snow (this guy shares his experience) or swimming in the freeeeeezing cold lake/pool/swamp whatever, because you know you can and will get out and back into the sauna to warm up.
This one time my mom locked the sauna from the outside, forgetting that I was still inside. Until then I was very chilled in there, but as soon as I realized i couldn't get out if I wanted to I started freaking out. Claustrophobia set in and suddenly it was uncomfortably hot. I was about to very melodramatically faint onto the floor when she came back and opened the door. So of course once she came inside I went out and did the same to her. Jokes!
My point is, though, that this is quite similar to our lives as Christians. Often we are persecuted for our beliefs, but why do we persevere? Because we know what is at the end of it. Even though it might feel uncomfortable at present, we stick to God because he is worth it and we have our eyes on the goal, not the situation at the moment. One of my favorite verses at the moment is 2 Corinthians 4.18
So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Persevere through the Sauna of life and reap the rewards of the brilliant cooling and relaxation effect of the lake of eternal life. Hey, but this doesn't mean that you shouldn't enjoy the sauna as well!
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will later reveal to us. Romans 8.18
now i feel like jumping into the pool....
xXx
