“It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26 NLT)
Following Jesus isn’t an accident or something that happens by chance, it’s an act of the will, hopefully based on an informed decision that changes everything about us. We don’t become a believer in Jesus by osmosis or association with godly people. We may learn to love the Lord because of godly parents or others in our lives, but their faith is not transferable. Any faith in Jesus must be based on firsthand commitment, because anything less is a counterfeit. God has no grandchildren.
Does it seem strange to you that the writer of the Hebrew letter specifically mentions that Moses “thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt”? We’re tempted to think Jesus didn’t come on the scene until many years after Moses, but Jesus is our eternal King who has lived and will live forever. It’s clear from Moses’ writings that the Lord had given him insight into His future arrival and the plans the Lord had for Moses were exceptional.
It’s no accident that Jesus chose Moses and Elijah to visit with Him on the high mountain when Jesus’ appearance was transformed. Elijah had not experienced death but had been carried up to heaven in a whirlwind, and Moses, while the Bible says that he died on Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, no one was allowed to know where he was buried, that God Himself would handle His burial. Might the Lord have decided to take Moses as He had Elijah and Enoch, to heaven without dying?
That’s just my speculation, but my point is simple: Knowing Jesus is transformational and will result in our being with Him in heaven, whether through literal death, or being raptured as many will one day be and some of the Old Testament men were. Belief is life-transforming or it’s valueless; it changes everything or is meaningless; it affects every area and dimension of our life, or it’s not of God. I love the story Dr. David Jeremiah recently told in one of his Turning Point articles about Chrisitan author Jennifer Rothschild.
When Jennifer was a teenager, the doctor told her she was going blind. Returning home with her parents, everyone was silent in the car. Jennifer recalls: “When we got home, I went straight to our old upright piano…. I started to play a song I had never played before. I could no longer see to read music. I played the song by ear. Yes, that was a gift from God, that ability to play by ear. But the greater gift to me was what I played…. I played “It Is Well With My Soul.” I think God, even then, was reminding me what He had already embedded in my spirit – that while it was not well with my circumstances, it was probably not ever going to be well with my circumstances, but because of Jesus, He really had already made it well with my soul.”1
Choosing to believe cannot be dependent upon our circumstances, but completely dependent on our conviction that the Lord owns our life and can do in, through, or with us anything of His choosing. Commitment to the Lord Jesus can never be: “I will follow You IF”, but simply: “I choose to follow You!”
Have you made that decision? If not, please tap ANewStory.com and let Ron Hutchcraft share a very simple and straightforward way you can have a relationship with the Lord Jesus for yourself.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
1Jennifer Rothschild, “Is God Just, Not Fair?” C. S. Lewis Institute, May 15, 2025.
