It’s out there. Everything from the “prosperity gospel” to our misconception that Jesus is less a savior and more a genie in a bottle. As Christians we tend to avoid discomfort, pray to deflect suffering and focus on our will rather than God’s will.
The call of Christianity isn’t to fight for what we want. It is to fight ourselves for what God wants. I think we’ve lost that. At least I did.
Give yourselves completely to God… Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. (Rom. 6)
You have died with Christ… (Col.2:20)
For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3).
Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. (2 Cor. 5:14)
In the past few months God has challenged me in every comfort zone I have. I was comfortable in my space, with my children, with the picture of my ideal family. But I have been asked to give up what I want for what he wants. My dreams for my life didn’t include the death of a child, adopting older children, sacrificing stability for a life dependent on the good-will giving of others or ministering to broken people who come with a lot of bags of sin.
I’ve been pushed, often to my limit. I don’t always understand it. I don’t always like it. I don’t always surrender to it immediately. But I am learning, that amid the loss of comfort, abandoning myself, a life hidden in Christ, is the most abundant place to be.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. -Jesus
