Being a christian is not easy. It calls for radical change in your life. You can't claim to be a christian and remain stagnant. You can't believe that Yeshua is who he says he is and continue in your life of sin. This is why Jesus says you must be born again, You must willingly surrender your old life in order to be transformed into something new. And it's not easy. Change is hard, and you have to die to your self. Following Jesus requires a commitment. We have to give up the control of micromanaging every aspect of our lives. We have to turn away from our own desires and allow God's will to be done in our lives. When we do this we will flourish. We will become courageous and bold and free to be the people we were created to be. We will be able to throw off the cares of this life and live with the peace that passes all understanding, because we know that this life is a vapor. There is so much freedom in this knowledge. The amazing stuff awaits us on the other side, but we have to make it through this life first.
We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. We are called to interact and live in this culture, even when this is not where we truly belong. We have to be willing to counter the narrative that this world has set for us. When you follow Christ in a world that is very anti-christian you will stand out, whether or not you want to. When Jesus walked on the earth he shook up the religious communities because he didn't fit into the narrative of what they thought a messiah should be. And now as followers of Christ we should appear different to the world. We live differently, think differently, act differently. We are set apart. A soul disengaged from this world is a powerful thing.
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14
A narrow gate would probably mean that the line gets easily backed up. So you must be patient and wait. Sometimes you're waiting for a long time, almost a stand still. But don't give up, and definitely don't change lanes, because the line will move and you will get through the gate. You just have to be very, very patient. The wide gate does look much easier and you can basically skip right through, but there's destruction on the other side. So the easy entry just doesn't seem worth it.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding a pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:44-45
Jesus gives us parables of the kingdom being something so precious and amazing that people were willing to give up everything they had in order to have their portion. Are we willing to give up everything we have for Jesus? He says we must be willing to take up our cross daily. Do we ever stop and think about what that actually means? Taking up your cross means that you do not care what it takes, you are going to follow Christ regardless. You promise to put him first in your life no matter what comes at you. And that is a HUGE lifelong commitment.
So here's the thing, Jesus gave up everything for you. He left his esteemed position in heaven to come to earth and live as a man, so that he could relate, understand, and empathize with us. He gets it. He understands the struggles and burdens of being a human. He can relate to being judged and misunderstood, betrayed and abandoned. He understands heartache, loss, grief and temptation. He knows what its like to be made fun of, looked down upon, and hurt by those closest to him. He has been in your shoes before. And he promises that he will never, ever leave you. People will let you down. Plans will fail and things you put your trust in will fall through. But Jesus never fails. He will be there time and time again. He will be the one person who will not let you down.
"And then Jesus told them, 'This very night you will all fall away away on account of me- But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.'" Matthew 26:31-32
I've been thinking a lot about the relationship Jesus had with his disciples. That friendship and brotherhood. The divine part of him knew what was about to happen, and even if his disciples didn't fully understand, he was telling them that he would be waiting for them. Even if we turn our back on him, he's still waiting on us. What a friend we have in Jesus. He has done all this for me, so I will live my life for him.
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