Hadley Baker
Let’s cut the crap and get real. Living for Jesus is HARD. I’m not talking about showing up to a building filled with Christians on Wednesday night. I am not talking about singing songs for half an hour and listening to a preacher yell at you about Jesus. And I am not talking about hanging out with your church friends after service until Chick-Fil-A kicks us out because they are closing. While all those things are well and good, they are also really EASY. An ATHEIST could do all the things I just named.
There is a HUGE difference between going to church and living for Christ. Singing a song is easy. It’s a lot harder to not yell and cuss when people are mocking you at school because you stand up for Christ. It’s a lot harder to sit at home alone on Friday while all your “friends” are turning up at the party. It’s a lot harder to live a life of holiness and purity when it seems everyone is consumed with sex, porn, filthy music, raunchy movies, etc. It’s a lot harder to respect your parent’s authority than to “do your own thing” (especially if your parents are jerks). All of this is much more challenging than just showing up on a Wednesday night, huh?
So what’s the point? Why would we intentionally enter into a lifestyle that will require us to deny what we want to do (see MATTHEW 16:24) and pursue knowing Jesus? Why would we “give up” all the fun, pleasure, popularity, etc? I will tell you why—because we know that all of this is temporary. Why would I trade my eternal soul for temporary pleasure? Do you think anyone who is in hell right now looks back and says, “Man it was worth it”? Of course not! On the flip side, do you think anyone walking on the streets of gold in heaven right now says “Man I missed out on all the fun and pleasure of the world!”? Of course not! The sin of this world cannot possibly compare to the eternal reward God has in store for us.
If you have had a radical, life-changing experience with Jesus...you don’t want what this world is throwing at you. You want HIM. HE is BETTER! HE satisfies in a way that this world simply cannot.
NO party
NO boy
NO girl
NO drug
NO drink
NO video
NO pic
NO website
NOTHING can satisfy like He can.
So let me ask you this—what you are living for now, will it matter in a million years? Don’t bow down to the gods of this world. Don’t live for what is temporary, live for what is eternal. If you feel like you don’t fit in, it’s because YOU DON’T. THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME. You are just passing through. You belong to God and your citizenship is in heaven.
I leave you with the words of Simon Peter found in The Message Bible (1 PETER 2:9-12):
But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night- and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
Let’s cut the crap and get real. Living for Jesus is HARD. I’m not talking about showing up to a building filled with Christians on Wednesday night. I am not talking about singing songs for half an hour and listening to a preacher yell at you about Jesus. And I am not talking about hanging out with your church friends after service until Chick-Fil-A kicks us out because they are closing. While all those things are well and good, they are also really EASY. An ATHEIST could do all the things I just named.
There is a HUGE difference between going to church and living for Christ. Singing a song is easy. It’s a lot harder to not yell and cuss when people are mocking you at school because you stand up for Christ. It’s a lot harder to sit at home alone on Friday while all your “friends” are turning up at the party. It’s a lot harder to live a life of holiness and purity when it seems everyone is consumed with sex, porn, filthy music, raunchy movies, etc. It’s a lot harder to respect your parent’s authority than to “do your own thing” (especially if your parents are jerks). All of this is much more challenging than just showing up on a Wednesday night, huh?
So what’s the point? Why would we intentionally enter into a lifestyle that will require us to deny what we want to do (see MATTHEW 16:24) and pursue knowing Jesus? Why would we “give up” all the fun, pleasure, popularity, etc? I will tell you why—because we know that all of this is temporary. Why would I trade my eternal soul for temporary pleasure? Do you think anyone who is in hell right now looks back and says, “Man it was worth it”? Of course not! On the flip side, do you think anyone walking on the streets of gold in heaven right now says “Man I missed out on all the fun and pleasure of the world!”? Of course not! The sin of this world cannot possibly compare to the eternal reward God has in store for us.
If you have had a radical, life-changing experience with Jesus...you don’t want what this world is throwing at you. You want HIM. HE is BETTER! HE satisfies in a way that this world simply cannot.
NO party
NO boy
NO girl
NO drug
NO drink
NO video
NO pic
NO website
NOTHING can satisfy like He can.
So let me ask you this—what you are living for now, will it matter in a million years? Don’t bow down to the gods of this world. Don’t live for what is temporary, live for what is eternal. If you feel like you don’t fit in, it’s because YOU DON’T. THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME. You are just passing through. You belong to God and your citizenship is in heaven.
I leave you with the words of Simon Peter found in The Message Bible (1 PETER 2:9-12):
But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night- and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
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