This Christianity Thing Is An Extreme Sport

This Christianity Thing Is An Extreme Sport

It’s simple to pretend to be listening to and understanding every sermon while attending church services on a regular basis.

Posting bible verses every Sunday morning and after is easy. Sharing “Christian” quotes is on a daily is easy. Listening to gospel songs on repeat is easy.

It’s easy as breathing to declare “I’m a Christian” wherever and whenever, to preach when necessary, to brag about and perform “good” deeds when the camera is rolling.

Being a Christian is easy when you’re up on the mountain and all is going well. In times like that, it’s easy to raise your hands to the sky while singing praises to God whilst in tears and awe of his graciousness.

When your days are happier and your worries aren’t closing in on you, it’s easy to spread the good news of Jesus and tell the world of the goodness of God.

When miracles are occurring frequently, your family is healthy, your job is thriving, your relationship is stable and beautiful, and breakthroughs are occurring, it is easy to testify to all the great blessings and provisions He has bestowed upon you.

But do you know what’s difficult?

Making time to encounter Him wherever you are is it.

It involves coming across a starving and homeless fellow and giving them your widow’s mite even though you have nothing.

That moment when you can’t even bring yourself to worship, but you pray for other people.

That moment you must heed the spirit when you the flesh is weak and worries are threatening to submerge you.

It’s hard to show love even to the most annoying and difficult individuals when all you want to do is go physical and call down fire on them. It’s hard to show compassion to those who don’t even treat you well.

It’s hard to sing his praise when you’re down in the valley, exhausted and busy at work, and spread a little kindness. It’s hard to set aside time during such dark day to genuinely pause in His presence.

When all you can see is your failure, you have to work harder to get through your struggle and, at the same time, serve God, it’s hard.

The hardest part is having faith in God’s promises when all you can see are dark clouds, failures, shattered dreams, sickly and dead loved ones, suffering, hardship, and all sort of earthly pains.

Those moments you feel the worst kind of emotional pain, pangs that make you question the essence of faith, when you don’t receive what you prayed for, but must remain thankful to God, because it’s written; ‘in all things, give thanks’.

In a time of purely waiting, when against hopes, you keeps hoping for a breakthrough, praising Him while you’re in pain, it’s hard.

When all you want to do is give up, but instead you lift your hands in sincere praises for what God is yet to do; it is hard.

Through times of loss, lack, and limitations, you learn to trust God more. This is hard.

When your eyes are wet with tears, your heart heavy with grief, and your body is nearing its breaking point, you still strive to love Him more.

This Christianity Thing is an extreme sport. It is difficult because accepting Jesus does not guarantee that life will be easy from this point forward; rather, life will continue much as it has in the past. But, He will give you grace to stay afloat, grace to overcome, grace to thrive where others wither away.

There will always be sadness, loss, heartbreak, limitations, failure, and disappointment in addition to deaths and illnesses. Choosing Jesus does not ensure a life free from suffering. However, it does guarantee you relief from suffering, recovery from illness, unwavering love during heartbreak, progress after setbacks, and eternal life after our journey in this wicked world is done. He called it a ‘cross’ which we must bear. If anything I know about crosses, it’s that they are rough, heavy and backbreaking, but His grace is sufficient much!

Yes, it’s hard but it’s worth it.