The Comfortable Life Vs. The Christian Life
If you could live in any fictional place where would you choose to live? For me, I first thought that living in the Shire might be nice. It's a pretty calm place with lovable people who lead simple lives. The beautiful green hills, comfortable homes, and pretty gardens that decorate the Shire all sound lovely.The shire seems like the perfect place to live.
But would I really want to live there? Would I be satisfied with the simple life that most of the residents lead? No, I don't think that I would. When I think of the Shire I think of comfort and pleasure. I think of walking through life with a happy smile on my face with no worries or challenges. A place where everything comes easily and does not require a whole lot of effort. So why wouldn't I be happy living in a place like that? Because I was not called to an easy life.
I was called to a life filled with challenges and hardships. I was called to live a life full of difficulty and discomfort. I was born to live a life worthy of the calling that the Lord has for me. When I accepted that call to follow Jesus I agreed to live a hard life.
If you have followed the Lord for any amount of time you know that it's tough. People may make fun of you for what you believe, you may have become an outcast among your friends and family for choosing to follow God, and you will have inner struggles with your choice to be devoted to following the Lord. Living your life for Christ is definitely not an easy life. But would you really want it to be?
The Start of a Hard Life
When I was younger following God was easy. I was born the daughter of a pastor and so I grew up going to church and learning about God. I would go to church every Sunday, listen to Christian music, pray with my family, and talk to my friends and family about God. It was great because even my friends believed in God so we could all go to church together and listen to the same kind of music too. I loved it and I loved God. I was always encouraged in my faith so I had no trouble with following the Lord.
And then, as I got older, I realized that my friends and the people around me were changing. I met people who did not love the Lord as I did, I saw people lose their faith, and I watched my friends change into people who went to church but who did not truly live for Christ.
Many people called it "growing up" and said that it was normal for tweens and teens to start acting this way. But here I was in a sea of people still holding on to my faith while many were not. I always felt like I was a child among them since they were so "grown-up" and "normal" with their secular music, boy-crazy tendencies, and lack of true faith. I felt like a fish out of water and was confused as to what happened to everyone around me.
That is when following Christ became hard. I became the odd one out in group settings and I felt like an outcast. For a few months I tried changing myself so that I could fit in with everyone better but I soon came to realize how empty that pursuit was. After those few months and a week long retreat as a Christian summer camp, God reminded me about how much he loved me and how he created me to be different for a reason.
Living Set-Apart Lives
As Christians we are called to be set apart, "A lily among thorns". Christ has called us to be his sons and daughters who are to represent him and who are not of the world as others are. We use our lives to glorify God and to point others to him as well. Living for Christ is not something that many people do, and that is why those who follow him are different. It is also why many are hated.
John 15:19 says, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.". As harsh as this sounds, it's true. Jesus was hated, Peter was hated, Stephen was hated, and I'm sure there are people who even hate Billy Graham for following the Lord.
With the amount of trouble that we get from non-believers by being outcasted, teased, bullied, and doubted (not to mention our inner struggles) wouldn't you want to have an easy hobbit-living-in-the-shire type of life? Well, I wouldn't. Because of the amount of struggles and challenges that I have faced in my walk with the Lord I have grown so much.
The Reward of Living for Christ
Feeling different and out of place helped me to realize that I don't have to fit in with everyone and that I have the best friend ever with me always! God became my closest friend through that struggle he revealed to me some true friends, including my mom and dad. They are people who will will always love and accept me even when many others won't.
Through struggling to follow the Lord in every area in my life I have learned to rely on him and trust him with my future and with my life. I have gained wisdom and strength in my faith as well as learning things like forgiveness, loving your enemies, selflessness, compassion, patience, and how to build relationships with people who are different then me. God has also showed me how to love those who hate me and don't except me. He started showing me his heart for helping others and put that desire in my heart as well.
If I did not face the challenges that I have with following the Lord then I would never have built a stronger relationship with him and I would not be the same person that I am today. Those struggles helped develop me as the young woman that I am and helped me figure out who I am in Christ. So I am actually grateful that following the Lord isn't easy. Those challenges have forced me to depend on God and to learn from him which results in a stronger relationship with him.
You Don't Have to Face These Challenges Alone
Even though we face many challenges in our quest to follow God and to serve him he does not make us do it alone. I am so thankful that the Lord is with me through every challenge that I face and that I will not have to be outcasted, hated, or go through this battle forever because God has already won. "...In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33.