The Hard Way

The hard part about affirming faith in Christ is not what other people think about us.  Certainly, there have been times when believing in Christ could be as costly as losing your life, but that day is not this day, at least not in the places where we serve Christ.  When I was young, peer pressure was a real deterrent to a young man who wanted to practice faith, but felt surrounded by those who would only ridicule.  As we get older and move more into our life, what others think becomes less a factor.    

What seems true is the that the real hard part about affirming faith in Christ has to do with what Christ thinks about us.  We want His approval; yet, we do not always want to offer a life style which is within the scope of His expectations of those who say they believe in Him.  It is not that His eyes look upon us with judgmental sternness.  Instead, we look upon ourselves and know that we live more according to our will and our agenda and not His will and agenda. It is at this point that the Christian faith becomes an unbearably hard thing.   

It becomes a hard thing because it is always hard to live two lives.  We are created to live one.  When we start saying one thing and living in a way that is inconsistent with what we declare to be our core values, we become like Adam and Eve.  We start hunting a fig leaf to cover our soul.  We start hiding when when we sense God is near.  We become dishonest with ourselves, one another, and the One who has made us.  If such is not a formula for a hard and difficult existence, there is not one.  Yet, here in the land of compromise we strive to live.  It is no wonder the Christian way becomes such a hard way that we seek another.