I'd Be Foolish to Expect to Live an Easy Life!
The truth of the Christian life is that narrow is the way to life and broad is the way to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). There's really no such thing as an easy Christian life. While salvation is a free gift but it may cost anyone their life. Nobody ever gets saved by trying their best to be good but nobody can be saved without resulting to a life of good works. When a Christian is called out of the world then they're not of the world (John 15:18-19).
I remembered reading John F. MacArthur's book "Hard to Believe". The contents were really mind-blowing especially with how Easy "Christianity" is plaguing churches with false converts. How often do we have a cheap and easy message that doesn't warn about the possible persecution that could happen. While not everyone who got saved had counted the cost of being saved but nobody can be truly saved if it doesn't result in counting the cost. If you're truly saved then paying for the cost of being a Christian becomes inevitable. Christians may cower at times but the power of the Holy Spirit is what gives them the power against sin and to endure to the end.
I remembered reading John F. MacArthur's book "Hard to Believe". The contents were really mind-blowing especially with how Easy "Christianity" is plaguing churches with false converts. How often do we have a cheap and easy message that doesn't warn about the possible persecution that could happen. While not everyone who got saved had counted the cost of being saved but nobody can be truly saved if it doesn't result in counting the cost. If you're truly saved then paying for the cost of being a Christian becomes inevitable. Christians may cower at times but the power of the Holy Spirit is what gives them the power against sin and to endure to the end.
The idea of me having my best life now is just garbage. I remembered how I listened to Joel Osteen and watching Trinity Broadcasting Network when I was newly saved until I started investigating everything they taught. There's no such thing as prosperity gospel in the Bible. The Christian life is not a glamorous life. When I read the Foxe's Book of Martyrs, I remembered the words of Jesus about persecution. Jesus hardly spoke of prosperity in the Christian life and spoke more of persecution. The Christian life was never meant to be glamorous so why should I expect to have no trials or fret over my persecutors when the difficulties of life come? I've been warned ahead of time that I'll never be able to avoid persecution from the world. The Christian life has never been about living with prosperity and happiness all the time. Being a Christian may mean even losing one's life for the Gospel. So what makes me think that God owes me an easy life? He doesn't owe me anything and I owe Him everything. There's nothing I could do to repay God because He is God. Right now I can only expect persecution and more persecution for following Christ as if I had committed something wrong. Wrongful persecution of Christians has already been part of God's plan and I have no rights to complain about it to Him.
One huge reason why there's such a huge fall away rate in today's modern church is because of a flimsy presentation of the Gospel. Some of them start with talking about, "You'll feel love, you'll feel joy..." or even use the doctrine of the prosperity gospel to win new converts. The huge problem is that these new converts are just false converts. Like the parable of the sower we see that there's not enough ground to sprout. All three soils the thorny soil, the rocky soil and the shallow soil represent the false convert. The good soil is the humbled person who's now ready to accept the Gospel. All three couldn't produce fruit because they're just false converts. Many today become false converts because there's no real preparation of the heart to receive the things of God. The unrepentant heart hardened in sin cannot savingly believe because it refuses to savingly believe.
The great difference kicks in. Those who decided to "follow" Jesus to get an easy life like those who went to Jesus for free lunch will be disappointed. Nobody should ever follow Jesus as Lord expecting a glamorous life. The world hated Jesus and would crucify Him again if they could. I once wondered why Jesus never promised a glamorous life. I wish He did but the more I get deeper into Christianity the more I realize this fact. If Jesus promised a glamorous life then what's the use of promising riches that never perish if He promised a lot of temporal wealth to those who follow Him? Instead, He wanted us to understand the temporal pleasures of life are nothing to the infinite value of following Him to the Gates of Heaven.
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