“By your endurance, you will gain your lives” (Luke 21:19)

Jesus once used the analogy of sowing seeds to illustrate that it is easy for men to fall on the wayside in the face of temptation.  Indeed, temptation is unavoidable.  Thus in the prayer that Jesus taught his apostles, there is a line: “Lead us not into temptation.”

By ‘endurance’, Jesus means for us to persevere until the time when we enter God’s kingdom.  Since we do not know when that will be, Jesus tells us that we must always be ready.  This ‘readiness’ refers to living God’s will in the present moment.

If we could focus on living, naturally we will be able to enjoy an inner peace and freedom.  We do not need to wait for the time when we return to God’s Kingdom, even in the here and now, we can live in God; because He is a God of love and peace.