I often ask myself this question. I hear about the joys of the Christian life, and while I do find my deepest and purest joy in Jesus Christ; I find myself struggling many times in my Christian walk. Paul writes about this in Romans 7, the struggle of what we want versus what we do, spirit vs. flesh, law vs. grace, Christ vs. the world in our life. But did not Jesus promise us joy and peace, a life full of abundance and blessings from him, for following him and spreading his word? The truth is that not only did Jesus NOT promise these things, but that we have examples of the apostles and disciples of the early church struggling, dealing with hardship, and dealing with suffering/persecution. I am sure the same question occurred to them and what we have to remember is that we are promised peace and joy, but this flows from Christ and our hope for the future and not some superficial materialism or emotionalism that we might get out of being a Christian today.
The truth is that in our current state we live in a fallen world, it has disease, suffering, crying, tears, pain, hurt, anger, bitterness, and many more things that are the opposite of joy and peace – yet, one day Christ will take all of the sin away – and with that wiping of sin from the world and establishment of his Kingdom; there will be eternal joy and peace, hope fulfilled. In a generation that seeks to have everything faster, whether cars or fast-food, we must remember to be patient and wait on God’s timing. This is not to say that we cannot and will never have joy or peace in life, surely we should seek for these and help others have them, being examples of the kingdom; yet we must realize that our hope is not fulfilled in the present world but in the future perfected world where Christ reigns eternally.
Last, we must begin to truly realize and understand that anything worth having requires work; anything worth having requires struggle, dedication, and commitment. We never expect to just have a million dollars fall into our hands (unless we lack common sense or luckily win the lottery), yet we expect to merely say a prayer of salvation and somehow magically become men and women of God with no work required. I think of those toys that have “no batteries required” stamped on the side and sometimes I think that as the church and as Christians we “package” the gospel with a stamp of the side saying “no faith required.” Another example could be our own relationships, whether friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, fiance, or spouses; do we not rearrange our schedule to be with or even be near these persons? Do not we work hard so that we can go on dates or outings or hang-out with these people? Would we not even sacrifice self for those we love? Yet, somewhere along the line while we believe it is valid to sacrifice for earthly things, to struggle and commit to tangible and temporary things while we nearly offer little or no sacrifice or commitment to Christ and the Kingdom of God at all. Why is our faith so little? Why do we live life confused? Where is the godly struggle in our life? Where is the Kingdom of God in our life, in our hearts? Your Brother in Christ,
The truth is that in our current state we live in a fallen world, it has disease, suffering, crying, tears, pain, hurt, anger, bitterness, and many more things that are the opposite of joy and peace – yet, one day Christ will take all of the sin away – and with that wiping of sin from the world and establishment of his Kingdom; there will be eternal joy and peace, hope fulfilled. In a generation that seeks to have everything faster, whether cars or fast-food, we must remember to be patient and wait on God’s timing. This is not to say that we cannot and will never have joy or peace in life, surely we should seek for these and help others have them, being examples of the kingdom; yet we must realize that our hope is not fulfilled in the present world but in the future perfected world where Christ reigns eternally.
Last, we must begin to truly realize and understand that anything worth having requires work; anything worth having requires struggle, dedication, and commitment. We never expect to just have a million dollars fall into our hands (unless we lack common sense or luckily win the lottery), yet we expect to merely say a prayer of salvation and somehow magically become men and women of God with no work required. I think of those toys that have “no batteries required” stamped on the side and sometimes I think that as the church and as Christians we “package” the gospel with a stamp of the side saying “no faith required.” Another example could be our own relationships, whether friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, fiance, or spouses; do we not rearrange our schedule to be with or even be near these persons? Do not we work hard so that we can go on dates or outings or hang-out with these people? Would we not even sacrifice self for those we love? Yet, somewhere along the line while we believe it is valid to sacrifice for earthly things, to struggle and commit to tangible and temporary things while we nearly offer little or no sacrifice or commitment to Christ and the Kingdom of God at all. Why is our faith so little? Why do we live life confused? Where is the godly struggle in our life? Where is the Kingdom of God in our life, in our hearts? Your Brother in Christ,
Traveling this Journey of Faith Alongside,
~ Daniel
~ Daniel
