Showing posts with label American dream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American dream. Show all posts

Monday, May 19, 2025

THE PROMISE OF GREAT REWARD

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”  (Hebrews 11:24-26 NIV)

This is where Christ dramatically deviates from the American dream. Yes, Jesus promises great reward, but His reward looks much different than what we might expect. The reward of the American dream is safety, security, and success found in more comfort, better stuff, and greater prosperity. But the reward of Christ trumps all these things and beckons us to live for an eternal safety, security and satisfaction that far outweigh everything this world has to offer us. 

-- David Platt in “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” 


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Monday, September 25, 2023

RISK AND REWARD

Amid the many facets of the American dream that contradict the core of the gospel, one ideal Americans have embraced coincides subtly with the words of Christ. As James Adams was coining the phrase “American dream,” Franklin Roosevelt was emphasizing how Americans will postpone immediate gratification and even endure hard sacrifices if they are convinced their future will be better than their past. Americans are willing to take great risks, he said, if they believe it will accomplish great reward.

In similar words Jesus said to His followers, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). Jesus clearly acknowledged that following Him involves risking the safety, security, and satisfaction we have found in this world. But in the end, Jesus said, following Him leads to a radical reward that this world can never offer. This begs a question from each of us: do we believe the reward found in Jesus is worth the risk of following Him?

The Apostle Paul answered that question: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  (Philippians 1:21 NKJV) 

-- Adapted from David Platt in “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream”


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