Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. — 2 Tim 2:1
One of the secrets of a true life is readiness to endure. Anybody can begin well – it is he who continues to the end who wins success. We are to be soldiers of Christ; soldiers must know how to endure. Softness and luxury belong not to a true life. Some mothers would keep their boys out of all hardness, away from all struggle, but that is not to make men of them. Imagine a soldier in training, who is kept out of battles, lest he might get hurt! Paul spoke of himself as one who contended in the games. He wished to reach heaven, but he knew that heaven had to be won on the battle–field of life. “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”
In the letters to the seven churches, in Revelation, all the blessings offered to the faithful lie beyond lines of battle, and the only way to reach them is by entering the struggle and enduring till we receive the crown. Nothing worthy can be reached by him who has not learned to endure.