After hearing Larry's sermon on Sunday, and reflecting on Mark 8:34 all last week, the question that keeps bouncing in my head is this: Is following Jesus difficult or easy?
Throughout the history the church has swung between a 'difficult' vision of discipleship and an 'easy' one. In the early church, martyrdom meant that following Christ was clearly a difficult life choice. But as Christianity became accepted and eventually enshrined as the state religion after Emperor Constantine, many found following Christ to be convenient. In reaction to this, the ascetic movement arose and the Desert Fathers and Mothers voluntarily gave up everything to find Christ in the difficult desert - as a rebuke to comfortable religion in the mainstream. Ever since then, the church has swung between crushing obligation, and what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called 'cheap grace'.
Jesus teaches the true difficulty of following him. It is not a difficulty of trying harder, working harder or being better. It is the difficulty of following him and trusting in his words. Peter followed Jesus every step, until the moment of the cross. And then he abandoned Jesus. We may like much of what Jesus has to say, but the real test comes when what Jesus calls us to feels offensive to us. That's the moment of denying ourselves and taking up our cross.
That's going to mean different things for different people. For some of us it will mean turning the other cheek when we would rather fight. For some of us it will mean entering into a difficult conversation when we would rather run away. For some of us it will mean praying rather than working, For some of us, it will mean working for others when we would rather be indulging ourselves.
The crucial issue is trust. Do we trust Jesus more than we trust ourselves? It means dying to complete understanding and taking up the burden of not know everything - living by trust. It means dying to my judgment of others and taking up the burden of forgiveness. It means dying to my identity and taking up the burden of the church community. It means dying to my comfort and taking up the needs of the city/world. It means dying to my freedom and taking up obedience It means dying to my intellectual pride and taking up the shaming burden of Jesus' name. It means dying to my moral pride and taking up the shaming burden of Jesus' grace.
That's what I am wrestling with today.
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ReplyDeleteGreat post Pastor Josh. The life of following Jesus has always been a difficult path for me. I never saw it as an easy task. But, the extent to how much I welcome Jesus into my life (in all of its joy and burdens) varied throughout different phases of my life. At times, the challenge of following Jesus seems minuscule in light of understanding and receiving His saving grace. But more often than not, I find more restrictions than freedom in Christianity and unfortunately, my response to His grace is that which is obligatory and burdensome.
ReplyDeleteI'm searching for something that is worthy of my complete trust- something for which I can both live and die. In trying to find meaning and purpose for my life, I have turned to a myriad of different social causes. But they still don't fill the void and emptiness I feel. I know that Jesus is the way. The only way. But even Satan knew this truth and that didn't save him.
Thanks Miri, those are honest words. Finding something or someone worthy of our complete trust is the goal, but that doesn't mean our trust will ever be complete. Just last week we read the story in Mark 9 - I do believe, help my unbelief! Thanks for sharing.
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