One of the great follies of our American brand of Christianity is our insistence that on-going comfort and security represent divine rewards. We conclude that the very comforts that separate us from others and those measures that somehow mark us as safe and independent are gifts from God.
Yet, the very nature of a fallen world is seldom kept at bay long. When our sense of security relies on our achievements, it can be shattered by a phone call, a headline, a storm, or a test result.
Perhaps it is our enemy, rather than God, who wants to lull us into a confident worldly sense of comfort and security. For there is where we circle our wagons to protect what we think we have. In comfort, we stall. We withdraw our efforts to be salt and light in an ever-darkening world under the rationale of mitigating risks. This blinds us to the reality that our withdrawal of light adds to the darkness. We’re ultimately creating greater risks than we avoid. Comfort and safety beckon us to camp along the path rather than following Jesus.
The journey of following Jesus is anything but safe and comfortable. Of course we want the crown without the cross. We want to discover the life God intends for us without releasing the prizes of our old lives. We’d prefer a swift clean transaction rather than a journey. Though Jesus responds,
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25 ESV
Is this not appealing?
Does it sound like less than good news?
Perhaps we’ve mistaken a spot along our journey of following Jesus with our destination.
Imagine a long hike on a beautiful mountain trail. The brush may be wet, the ascent steep, the path muddy, the humidity high, and the rocks slippery. Yet, there are these incredible moments – an opening in the trees exposes a gorgeous vista or a hidden waterfall, a boulder provides a perfect site to picnic overlooking raging rapids, a fawn almost close enough to touch, that moment when a bottled water or a protein bar never tasted so good, a quite wading pool, or a wildflower-filled meadow. As much as you might think you’d like any of these moments to last forever, you move forward, knowing darkness will come and you have a destination to reach before it arrives.
Though sometimes we get so enamored with these moments that we pitch a tent.
But only a fool trades a home for a tent.
Jesus promised,
“In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3
Our path winds through this world, though it does not end here. Our destination, our home, is not in this world, but the next with Jesus.
God blesses us with moments of joy, friendship, landscapes, music, family, art, warm baths, sports, laughter and fun, meals, kisses, and accomplishments to refresh, encourage and enrich our journey, but not to establish our comfort or safety.
God knows how short-sighted we can be. He knows we often mistake moments for destinations. He loves us too much to leave us in a tent, even if we’re convinced that he has given us the nicest tent in the perfect place with all the right resources. His grace allows those moments to end. His grace allows the phone call, the headline, the storm, or the test result to shatter our independence.
Why?
Because the storms of this world are temporary, but the coming darkness is not. The comfort and safety we’ve created will not be enough. He wants us home before dark.
Thanks for reading!
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