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In life, we often have to persevere, sometimes through trials and difficult times. Yet perseverance is highly regarded as a Christian virtue. Why?

Mirages in the desert or on the highway promise water that isn’t there. Politicians make promises that, even if they genuinely hoped to deliver, will never be fulfilled. Friends, family, and even church members can let us down. All the trinkets and whiz-bang-gizmos we long for and buy never deliver the fulfillment we crave.

His grace is enough.

Enough? For what? His grace is sufficient for whatever we face. His grace will outlast any suffering, trials, or thorns we will encounter.

We’re broken people living in a fallen world. All the man-made wisdom, tools, and technology can’t rescue or redeem us. That’s why we needed a savior to set us free.

One source puts it this way, “Becoming more like Christ is the desire of every believer, and it is encouraging to know that God has the same desire for us. In fact, the Bible says that God “predestined [believers] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). Making us Christlike is God’s work, and He will see it through to the end (Philippians 1:6).”

The world has gone insane. It celebrates darkness and denies even fundamental truths. We wonder, “How crazy will it get?”

Yet the Kingdom is here at least in part and has been growing like a mustard seed since the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It’s beautifully simple, a classic favorite. The tune portrays a serene, quiet scene on the night of Jesus’ birth.

The problem is that night would have been anything but quiet.

There is also a sense that the idea holds true in the spiritual realm. We enter through the narrow gate and, as believers, are given the Spirit. We begin to be transformed into the image of Christ. We have entered the kingdom of God, albeit not in its fullness.

All of us were self-centered versions of Ebenezer Scrooge before we became believers. Our sin may have been different than His, but we still were stuck in a place we couldn’t get free of.

Our salvation didn’t come in the form of the ghost of a dead partner, followed by the ghosts of Christmas, Past, Present, and Yet To Come.