I was at church a few days ago listening to the pastor when something he said hit me. He said, "Being a Christian is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life." And it's true; I definitely agree that being a Christian is not easy.
But how do so many people make it look so easy?
Well, I have two answers for that. 1) They love God and trust Him so much that He gives them joy all the time, even when the going gets tough. 2) They say they've accepted Christ as their Savior, but they really aren't doing anything to serve the Lord; they haven't really repented.
Being a Christian means that you have turned from your old life and given up everything to God. The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" And what an amazing thing to hear coming from Paul himself, who went from being a devout Pharisee bent on destroying the Christian population to one of the most dedicated messengers of the Gospel!
But for most, unlike Paul, this becoming a new creation is a process, not an event. Although there is a point where we turn our lives over to God and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, the removal of sin from our lives is a gradual process. And that is what makes being a Christian so hard: we must continually strive to choose God rather than sin. And I'm sure you all know just how hard that can be when Satan has devoted his existence to making sin look as appealing as possible. "It's only one question. It's not like you're cheating on the entire test." "Come on, take a sip. Enjoy it! One glass of beer isn't going to hurt you." "Are you going to take that? How dare he talk to you like that? You deserve better than that! The Bible says that you should do to others as you want to be treated. Go give him what he asked for!" We have to fight Satan and our desires daily and refuse to give in to temptation. No wonder my pastor said being a Christian is so hard.
So now I've shown how hard Christianity can be. But why does it look so easy for many people?
Let's start with my second answer. One of the arguments many people have for not becoming a Christian is that so many of us seem like hypocrites. We talk about how God loves us and how Jesus saved us from death and that we should live our lives for Him because He gave His for us, and then we go on sinning like before. I have to confess that I find myself being a hypocrite too a lot of times. (Thank God that He forgives!) I'm sad to say that the people who make that argument do have a point. Why claim to be a Christian if you're not going to let it make a difference in your life? But on the other hand, if those people are so annoyed by all the hypocrites, I think they could become some of the most devoted followers of Christ because they hate hypocrisy so much.
But continuing with my original point, many people simply don't get what it means to be a Christian. They say, "Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. Thank You for saving me from death. Amen," and then they're done. They go back out into the world of drugs, sex, and hatred. Some will argue that this is okay because God will forgive us. But Paul makes it clear in Romans 6 that this is not the case. And in 2 Corinthians 7:1, he says, "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."
And that leads us to my first answer. Because God gave us the ultimate gift of salvation through Christ, we thankfully and joyfully serve Him. When I receive a gift from someone on a random occasion (not my birthday or Christmas or any other time you'd expect a gift), I naturally feel the need and desire to give something back out of thanks. This is how we should feel toward God. After all, He sent His Son to die for us. I don't know about you, but if my brother gave his life for me, I'd want to live in a way that would honor him. And Matthew 12:48-50 says that we are Jesus' brothers and sisters.
The Christians who daily deny themselves and their earthly desires, those who take up the cross and follow Christ (Luke 9:23) — these men and women, boys and girls make Christianity look easy because they have their eyes set on the prize in heaven (Colossians 3:1-4). 2 Corinthians 4:18 explains these people's lives perfectly: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Eternal life with our Maker in heaven is so much more rewarding than a few momentary pleasures.
To sum things up, there are two types of Christians in my mind: those who are content to live in sin, and those who will settle for nothing less than Christ. The Bible says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." But it also says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38) and "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). So will the unrepentant believers be saved? The way I see it, if a person makes no conscious effort to turn from his or her sinful ways, that person never really believed and did not truly accept Jesus as his or her Savior. But that question is for God alone to answer on Judgment Day. I hope that I will be proven wrong.
Christianity is as hard or as easy as you make it. We have a few choices. 1) Accept Christ as our Savior and go on sinning and refusing to repent, living as hypocrites seeking temporary earthly pleasures rather than the eternal joy of the kingdom of heaven. 2) Live for Christ reluctantly, as if under obligation. 3) Live for Christ joyfully and thankfully, filled with His Spirit and eager to serve, and chasing after the greatest prize in the universe. The first choice is easy. The second is hard. And the third is difficult, but more than worth it. It's your choice.
So what does a Christian look like? We strive to look like one thing. The answer is two short, simple, powerful words:
Jesus Christ.
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
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"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
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