Life is hard.
Yeah, I know… That’s a surprise to absolutely nobody. We all feel the grind of the day. We all can feel how the world is broken. We want to see it all made new.
But one of the things that was running through my mind as I opened up this browser window was how hard it is to be a Christian. Bare with me. What I mean will make sense shortly.
I have the constant example of Christ… his glory burning forth in my life. I didn’t just make a promise to my wife to love her. I made that promise before Christ. My desire to be a good husband is equal parts love for my wife and love for Christ. And that’s just one area of life that Christ affects.
The call to love my neighbor as I love myself is quite the challenge. Sometimes my neighbors aren’t all that lovable. Yet Christ calls me to love them anyway. Even the way that I treat my best friends come back to their identity in Christ. There’s this constant check going on in my mind about whether or not I’m glorifying God by the way I treat those around me.
Beyond even the most basic social interactions, we also have personal habits. I ask myself if I’m glorifying God with my life. I ask myself if the permissible thing in front of me is beneficial. It never stops. Is this YouTube Channel a way to glorify God with my life? Is it perhaps hurtful? Then maybe I should skip it.
It doesn’t stop. And in a way, it can weigh you down. The way that Christ calls you to live your life is anything but easy. Denying yourself and taking up your cross will always be a hard calling. It can show up in the smallest of ways. Just today, my office was cracking some crude jokes while I was walking in, then started chuckling about whether my youth pastor ears could hear them. I did my best to be a good witness in that situation (I’m not exactly sure how I did), but it goes to show you how counter-cultural Christianity is (and should be). And being counter-cultural is hard.
But…
The Christian life is one of the easiest things in the world. It’s a life of letting go. It’s difficult when you try it, but it’s so rewarding once you do. You let go of your sense of control and trust in God. And there’s a peace and ease of life that comes from it.
Even amidst all the things that the Christian should do, we find the ease of the Christian life in knowing that we are still loved, even when we fail. Don’t get me wrong, genuine faith comes with genuine change, but I know that I’ll never be the perfect husband to my wife. And God still loves me. My acceptance before him does not rely on my adherence to any law. God’s grace, by definition, is unmerited. That is the biggest breath of peace that you can be given.
And looking at the looming picture of how a Christian should be, we find that it’s a weight too large for us to bear. That’s the point. Our strength to be better husbands or wives, better fathers or mothers, and better siblings or friends… it all comes from Christ. He is the change in our hearts. And that takes the pressure off of us in a huge way. We have the promise of God that he will finish what he’s started in us. In a way, missteps should point us ahead to the Holy Spirit’s future work in our hearts. Even as we struggle with the idea of not yet being who we want to be, we can have hope knowing that the race has already been won.
In a way, the Christian life is simultaneously the hardest and easiest thing. God has a thing for paradoxes. So, Lord, continue to work in me. And give hope to those who long for your work to continue in their hearts.
Soli Deo Gloria, friends.
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