Leaving You with a Thought

Okay, I am literally 19 days away from test-taking time for my certification as a general securities representative/investment advisor representative. So that means I need to get off the blog and hit the books some. I have really been enjoying posting because I've been getting on a few soapboxes and have actually had some responses lately, but I've got to take a break.
I have one more thing I want to post on before I go, that follows the train of thought I started a couple of days ago, and I want to get a picture up if my camera will work today.
My husband and I were reading this morning and he came across a passage in one of his books about "triumphalism" or triumphalist christianity. This is the type of religion that suggests that being a true Christian means that we will be prosperous, healthy, and happy in this life. I think a lot more people believe this than will admit to it. As I stated earlier, we believe the kinds of sacrifices God calls us to make for Him are the little things, like choosing not to hit someone that makes us mad, or not cheating on a test, or only going 5 over the speed limit, or taking the time to go to church, or tithing our 10%. And we believe (whether we admit to it or not) that God will reward us with the creature comforts of things and stuff in this life.
We followed our personal reading time by reading together in Ephesians, and check out verse three of chapter one:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every SPIRITUAL belssing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST."
Paul seems to believe that our blessings are not granted us on this earth in worldly forms. I think scripture supports the idea that if we would prefer all of the blessings on this earth, we could probably have these and miss out on the blessings awaiting us in heaven. Paul's belief is that God's blessing is Christ Himself. The life of Christ. A life of true sacrifice. This is the paradox: this life which might seem devoid of the types of "triumphs" that we like to use to measure success by (health, wealth, happiness), is the very life that is truly triumphant.
Anyway, I've blogged enough and now I will most likely be offline for a few weeks in preparation for this test. I may try to get on once in awhile, but I will need to be brief...