I was giving my testimony at a youth group a few weeks ago, and after I was done the youth pastor asked me a few questions. The first question he asked me was this “So Nathan, after all this, would you say that it was easy? That living the Christian life is easy?” Obviously he was looking for an answer that would go something like this: “No way kids, the Christian life is probably harder. Living for Christ is not easy, it’s not a walk in the park. It takes sacrifice and giving up the things you love. It is anything but easy.” I’ll be honest, that was close to the answer I gave.
Looking back on my answer now, I kind of feel bad. I think I lied to them. I’ll be honest. My life has been easy. I love every minute of my life. I don’t have near the amount of crap in my life to deal with that some people have to deal with. My parents have never had a divorce, I’ve never been beaten or abused, I have enough money to eat and wear clothes and have a roof over my head and no one really close to me has even died. I don’t say that to brag or rub it in someone’s face, I’m just saying that I’ve been blessed and have never had to go through something like that. My life has been a walk in the park. Being a Christian has been extremely easy. In fact, growing up the way I have, it would probably be a lot harder for me to go the opposite way.
I love my life. I don’t have to try ‘harder’ to be a Christian. The most I’ve ever been persecuted was in grade seven when one of my classmates stood beside me and poked me until I would say ‘shit.’ Oh ya, I got called ‘God Boy’ numerous times. However, now I’m respected for my faith, more by non-Christians in the city than by Christians.
So where does this lead me? Does it leave me as a failure as a Christ-follower because I’ve never been stripped and flogged or beaten? Does it leave me as a lukewarm Christian? I’m not exactly sure. I’m sure one could judge either way. However, what I do know is that I love Jesus Christ with all my heart. I know that in all my ways I try to live for him and obey him by loving people also. I know that I honestly seek out his will in my life. I also know that typically pastors have preached (I’ve heard it myself) that Satan doesn’t care about a dead horse. Meaning, that I’m not being attacked because I’m not doing anything for God in the first place. I’m not being persecuted because I’m not a threat.
So am I a lousy Christian because I love being one and I think it is easy to be one? Or do I need to think it’s hard to be one, and convince everyone that it will be the hardest decision they will ever make. I don’t wish very often like David in Psalm 73, I don’t ask God why the wicked always seem to get their way because frankly I don’t see them getting their own way, I see them devouring their own filth and not going anywhere, and I would never want that or desire it. I sin everyday, sometimes twice a day, sometimes every minute, but it is never because I think being a Christian is hard. For me, being a Christian is easy. Accepting Christ’s love and grace in my life and understanding that I’m helpless without him is easy. Does that mean I’m missing something?
Is something wrong because your Christian life has been easier than some? No.
I have three thoughts:
1. Your life isn’t over. I think you told me once that you want to be a pastor. If this is the case you’ll experience lots of hardship in this office…mostly from members.
2. Although Jesus does say that we’ll experience hardship for His sake, never do we hear that somehow hardship is somekind of gague for our devotion.
3. God loves His people. Although we’ll have persecution, it doesn’t mean that God wants this for us.
I’m quite shocked that the minister would actually say something like he did and imply that if you’re not being attacked than you’re dead. I’ve never heard that before. Is this common?
I believe sometimes as we press into God and His manifest presence then Satan moves in. He wants to do everything he can to destroy us. Why does God allow this to happen for some and not others? I dont know. Just look at Job for example, God allowed all those things to happen to him for a reason. Every person and circumstance is different. I dont understand why.
The Bible says, You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate and the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.
What does this mean?
Another verse says, Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on YOUR OWN understanding. Seek HIS WILL in all you do, and He will direct your paths.
Whatever His will is, weather I like it or not.I want it, whatever it may bring.
Troy
I’m somewhat confused still be that comment that apparantly you heard from the pastor “several” times. I don’t know who this person is, and I assume that the Lord has done many things through him (her?). However what this person said is simply not true. I cannot think of ever reading something in the Bible that would give the slightest indication that if we’re not persecuted it means we’re dead. Why would someone say something like that?
The implecations of this belief are also huge. Consider the following questions:
1. Does this mean that the more persecution one gets the more “spiritual” he/she is?
2. If a pastor is percesuted by his church for a decision he made can he use this persecution as assuance he made the right choice?
3. The more persecution a Christian faces, the more spiritual he/she is?
4. Do Christians therefore need to seek persecution?
Sorry, I get hung up on things like this.
Melissa you challenged me also. I mean I am in my “bubble of protection”. Sure I am around with non-Christian friends, but my friends are like Nathan, they respect me. Maybe thats partly my fault, maybe thats because I have done something wrong. Maybe because I have just “been” there, I haven’t tried to witness to them but rather just be the Christian friend who people can trust. Not that I am going to be percuted and am going to be super happy, but I think my friends might be seeing me as a stagnet Christian, see the light fragments shining through a curtain.
I like these thoughts. A lot!
First, I guess I should have clarified a bit more. I’m not saying hardships won’t come. Because they will, especially if I’m going to plant a church, and be working with people all my life. It’s inevitable. I don’t even mean to say that I haven’t gone through hard times, because I have. But none of them are a direct result of me being a Christian.
And yes Tom, the pastor said that from the pulpit, i’ve heard it a number of times in the pentecostal culture, that we will be attatcked and if we aren’t then it’s probably a song we aren’t doing anything.
Melissa, I think what I’m trying to say (sometimes i have a hard time saying what i’m trying to say). It was easy to accept a gift from God, a gift of grace and redemption. It has not been easy AT ALL trying to live a life following Christ. It has been easy living though because i don’t fret (like i used to) when I do screw up because i know it’s covered by Christ, so I find it easier because i’m not trying ridiculously hard meet any expectations, those were already met by Christ. So it makes life easier because, well, it’s not up to me to meet standards or quota’s. I just live my best for Christ and no matter how bad or good i do. I’m viewed as perfect and there already by God.
I think you really challenged me in the idea that i don’t put myself in places where i will be persecuted. To a point would completely agree with you. I don’t set myself up for persecution. I work at a church. I volunteer at a drop-in center. I go to parties, but my friends there respect me more than the church does. I’m not even really sure where I could go to be persecuted. I worked at a restaurant, and i got made fun of all the time for being a Christian, but really they respected me for it and told me, heck, sometimes it was kind of funny.
It is work defintily to be a Christian, but it doesn’t coss me as hard work. Debates about biblical authority (even if it is in direct relation to my life), volunteering with students and runing events are all difficult and sometimes troublesome, but when i look at lives of chasing after other pleasures, this seems easy and nothing to complain about. I already know the ending, and I already am welcomed to join on God’s side, anything else in between seems trivial and nothing compared to what awaits.
It is hard to be Christ to people. I mess up all the time with that. In fact my life is typically a constant mess-up with that with a few good times where I might pull it off with Christ’s help. Maybe I need to be harder on myself, and start living a better life or something. I certainly doubt, lust, am greedy, and a hundred other things all the time, but life i guess is easier knowing that none of those things come in the way of what Christ has done for me, and i can now try hard to live in Christ as opposed to my old self.
Nathan,
Your a lazy pile. Of course your not bieng attacked by “satan” because you do nothing. Stop being so lazy and then you will get attacked like every good christian should.
Geez.
P.S – I am amped for Monday, I think Jesse is coming.
P.S.S – Make a link at the top so you can get back to your main page of blogs and have your photo gallery load in a seperate window.
Peace
i think thats its a little of both.
i honestly dont believe that you think its so easy
accepting his love and grace, understanding we are helpless, pretty simple for anyone who really understands it. of course the fact that you sin isnt because you ‘dont think being a christian is easy’, but sinning in itself shows that its not all that easy. the fact that you are constantly battling against the desires of your flesh to sustain purity and holiness is a job in itself. theres no way that you can tell me that you find it easy to resist fleshly temptations, because i know for a fact that you dont. if you werent a christian then it wouldnt matter, cause who really cares, but because you choose to love god then you choose to work at your relationship with him, giving up the unrighteous things and making time to spend with god dont come naturally, and im not sure if they are supposed to. i dont think that being a christian is supposed to be easy at all.
about the persecution thing, i dont think that you see it because you dont put yourself in situations where you could get it. you are always surrounded by other christians. im not saying you do it on purpose, or to avoid it, its just how its been. highschool maybe you didnt hear it as much, but you were definately persecuted every time someone made fun of ‘christian fellowship’, and im sure some people had some things to say about your faith behind your back. maybe a lot of the stuff you just brushed off because you didn’t let it bother you. maybe this coming year will be different, being at a secular school. like i think most christians put themselves in a safe place so they wont be persecuted. like i dont see you walking downtown into the middle of a gang and telling them about Jesus, and frankly i dont think you would.
i think being a christian is hard, working with 4 gay guys who i love to death, they all know im a christian, and i know they have had very bad experiences with christians, so its left to me to show them who GOd really is. i think that its hard to represent the label ‘christian’, maybe because part of me doesnt want to because of what it has become, or because its so much work resisting my natural insincts to get mad at an asian who makes me angry when im having a bad day, or to make fun of the annoying kid who farts all the time and cant spell ‘foam’.
so i guess i dont think its a little of both, i think being a christian isn’t supposed to be super easy, and i really don’t think it is for you. you cant say that being a christian is easy based on how smoothly your life has been, or how much pain you haven’t had to indure, or how many car accidents you have survived, i think it comes down to the relational stuff. maybe you find building your relationship with god to be super easy, and maybe you never doubt, maybe you have no problem not masturbating when you really want to, maybe you never get angry at god and dont want to have faith, and maybe walking into the middle of a gang to tell them about Jesus wouldn’t even phase you. but i think that having the faith to believe all this Bible nonsense is enough work in itself, nevermind not getting mad at the asians.
“because its so much work resisting my natural insincts to get mad at an asian who makes me angry “
I love it.