Easy?

9.11.12

1 Thessalonians 1:6

"You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."

Easy is a word that can be used to describe a lot of things.  If you breeze through something quickly you would consider it pretty easy.  As adults, first grade math is a lot easier now than it was when we were five years old.

Some people think life as a whole should be easy, but the question I pose is, did Jesus ever come to us and promise us that life would be "easy"?  Sometimes we get caught up in the idea that following Christ is going to make life get easier.  That if we follow Jesus then all of our concerns and hardships suddenly just disappear, but I don't think that is what he taught at all.

In fact I think it is the exact opposite.  Throughout scripture we are pointed back to the idea that when we follow Jesus we are drafted into a spiritual battle that is going to be spiritually, emotionally and yes even physically taxing.  There are going to be times when it seems like everything is against us.

So why would want to be part of that fight........

The simple reason is that there is hope.  We fight for a God that loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son so that we may have an eternity with our Heavenly Father.   We find hope in the belief that there is more to us then this life we know right now.  We find hope that we have an all powerful God that is for us.  That is on our side.  We find continued hope that our God lives with us and in us through His Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote the letter of 1 Thessalonians to a church of Thessalonians who were being continually persecuted for following Christ.  In fact Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica because he was opposed so severely.  But in this letter he encourages the Thessalonians to stay strong in their faith and in their imitating Christ.  In fact he encourages them to continue to persevere with JOY.  WITH JOY, through the Holy Spirit.  Not on their own, but with the power of the God that they love and that loves them.

My encouragement to everyone is that when you follow Jesus your life doesn't magically get easier, but you can find encouragement that your God walks with you and lives in you.  That you can find joy in the fact when life beats you down, your God stands with you.  

Thought question:  Is your life too easy right now?  is there something that God wants you to be doing, that might complicate your life?  Are you willing to make life harder in order to further the work of the kingdom,?