Don't Put This on the Poster

Yesterday morning, I was reading my devotion from the One Year Mini. There was a section of the devotion that stuck with me throughout the day. It centered around the issue of faithfulness and address the question: Is God's rescue of us dependent on our faithfulness to him? Part of their response read:

"If God always rescued those who were true to him, Christians would not need faith. Their religion would be a great insurance policy, and there would be be lines of selfish people ready to sign up.

We should be faithful to God whether her intervenes on our behalf or not. Our eternal reward and rescue from God's judgment are worth any suffering we may have to endure first."

I read this, and I see the wisdom and truth in this statement. I realize that our needs are not always what God has in store for us. I realize that life is going to have its ups and downs, and we will make our way through regardless. It is our faith in God that sustains us through life.

With so many churches struggling to find new members and struggling to keep their current members, I can't help but focus on this image of lines of people being ready to sign up. Aren't folks looking for a sure thing? If God provided everything they needed, I suppose everyone would want to be Christian.

I also suppose many atheists would argue that if God exists, and he is a good and just God, he would provide everything that we need. Why would he want to see us suffer?

The writer tells us that what waits for us after this life will be way better than anything bad that might happen to us. I certainly believe it. I know many others that do...but many that don't. How do we help non-believers to understand the "eternal reward" waiting for them in Christ?