Lately I have had a theme in many of my posts. You may have noticed it and I cannot say that the theme was my intention. I think a lot of it has to do with what God is revealing to me and so that theme tends to bleed out into my posts. The theme is, the hardest thing you’ll ever do (and I’ll ever do).
What is the hardest thing you’ll ever do?
It isn’t stopping a run-a-way train with your bare hands. It isn’t solving the rubik’s cube. It isn’t beating Chinook in a game of checkers. It isn’t trying to come up with a list of near impossible things to do either.
The hardest thing you’ll ever do is live by faith. Even in first step of faith, it is usually a painful thing. When we admit our sin, submit to the Lordship of Christ, and are saved by him through our faith it can be terribly destroying. But it does not last long, it almost instantly turns to joy and gladness. To be free from your past life’s burdens is strengthening, emboldening, and liberating.
But we are continuously contending with the flesh, as we walk with and away from Christ. Ever day we need to make many decisions, are we going to obey our flesh or are we going to follow our saviour? The hardest thing is to follow our saviour, the easy thing is to obey our flesh. This comes in many different forms, from following man-made rules, indulging in sin, putting your pastor or pope in the place of Christ, etc. But to truly follow Christ, we find that we once again have been strengthened, emboldened, and liberated.
It is an interesting twist – the hardest thing you’ll ever do has the greatest reward and ultimately is the easiest thing to do, making your life more bearable. While the easiest thing to do (rely on flesh) ends up causing the most heartache and making your life harder and burdensome.
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. – Galatians 2:20