I was in a discussion a while ago that
was pursuing the basic topic, “what does following God look like?”
There was one side of the conversation that seemed to be arguing that
following God makes things easy spiritually so that it doesn't matter
if they are hard physically. I had heard this sort of thing before,
and something about it never rang true, but I couldn't quite call it
out. But something about the starkness and naivete with which it was
said in that discussion (and perhaps some things I'm dealing with
currently) finally helped me to put my finger on the error:
The reality is that following God can
be just as hard spiritually.
Following God can look like waiting so
long you wonder if God has forgotten his promises.
Following God can look like sacrificing
your son.
Following God can look like being
denied the goal of your life's work.
Following God can look like watching
your wife die and being told not to grieve.
Following God can look like suffering
abandonment by friends and shame before enemies
Following God can look like begging
again and again for comfort and being told “no.”
And those are just examples from
scripture.
And yes, of course there are the
blessings in Christ – peace with God and forgiveness and family.
But we need to be careful that these objective realities are not
overlaid with rainbows and sparkles and made to be primarily about
feelings. I am increasingly convinced that too many people say of
Christianity, “it's not about the physical things you get, it's
about the spiritual things you get,” but by “spiritual things”
they actually mean “how you feel.” If we don't call that out, if
we allow Christianity to be about feeling better, then we're still
selling a product, and we're no better than those who are trying to
peddle health and wealth. The life of the upside down kingdom
sometimes sounds fun and hippy and radical, but the realities are
harsh. Living means dying. Peace means suffering. Winning means
losing.
I follow Jesus because he is the only
master who loves me.
I follow Jesus because his are the only
words that make any coherent sense.
I follow Jesus because his is the only
endgame filled with hope.
But if Jesus is the one we follow, then
we must be prepared for the fact that greatness and glory are only
found after shame and suffering and anguish.
