Have you ever heard about the wonderful life of following Jesus? About how all your problems will fade away when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and life will be easy going?
Don’t we all want life to be easy and our decision clear cut?
That things would be laid out in front of us in easy to make clear cut decision. That it would be black and white and it would be easy going…
The problem with this and people saying this is the way it is are feeding the world a line that they really do not need. No where in the Bible does it say that you will have an easy life once you follow Jesus. It does not say that. In fact the Bible also does not say God helps those who help themselves. Many want to say that these sayings are in the book of Hezikiah, and they might be, but that is not one of the books in the Bible, not even in the Apocrypha or the inter testimonial books.
Actually I remember Shane Claiborne saying something like, “Once I found Jesus my life got harder…” and that is actually the way I have found it to. Jesus does make your life easier in knowing that you have the creator of the universe walking with you through everything you will face, but it is not easier because all of your problems go away. Infact your adversaries will increase and the troubles you go through will probably get more and harder…
You see when you start to follow and actually follow Jesus, your friends will wonder what is going on and why you are doing the things you are doing. They won’t understand your change in attitude and will ask you and push you to be who you were, not who you now are…
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:19-25 ESV)
Peter tells us that if we suffer for doing what Jesus calls us to do we are in the right and should expect this. What this tells us is that we are going to face trials for our beliefs. We will face trials because Jesus who did not sin faced trials trying to get people to understand why He was here…
So the easy life will come once Jesus returns, but until then, embrace the trials…
aSacredRebel 