This provocative whisper quietly (or maybe not so quietly) captivates our soul.
We look what others have, how hard we’ve worked, and we tell ourselves that we are entitled to this reward. We’ve earned this break. We’re deserving of this indulgence.
We compare our sacrifice to what seems to come easy to those around us and we think we’re owed this short departure of doing what we ought to for others in order to do what we desire for ourselves.
As Loreal would say, we’re worth it.
The only challenge is that God says something different.
Romans 8:12 explicitly tells us that, yes, we are in debt – but not to ourselves. The balance due is not in our favor. As Paul makes clear later in Romans, what’s due is to continuously show love to others. Not because they necessarily deserve it, but because we are servants of Christ. He has already covered the greatest debt, taking on the penalty of sin so that if we repent and put our faith in Him we may have a right relationship with our Creator and Lord. He asks us to serve Him by serving others, to bestow the love He has poured out on us to those He puts in our life (Gal. 5:13-14). Not to “repay” what He has done for us (that would be impossible to do) but as a act of thankfulness for all He has given on our behalf.
May we therefore be propelled to live increasingly according to His Spirit. May His whispers of love overcome the shouts of self-service. May we continually seek to keep the debt of love outstanding – not to our own benefit – but in order to demonstrate His kindness to those we know.
One of the challenges with the Christian life is that it is easy to be sincere about wanting to do God’s will and to at times be confused about what precisely He is calling us to do. Of course, there are some situations that aren’t like that at all; there are times when Scripture is explicit about what a child of God should do. However, in the daily course of events as we make decisions about what job we should take, who we should marry, or the school that we should enroll our kids in, the Bible contains some general principles but doesn’t provide explicit instructions that allow us to determine between two good and godly choices. We find ourselves confused and conflicted – not wanting to make the “wrong” decision but unsure what the right one is.
Oftentimes, when faced with these situations we are tempted to make the choice based on our expectations of what decision will be easier for us or will produce the greatest return in our life. It is important to remember during these times, that God doesn’t promise the Christian that His way will be the easy way. In fact, His promise is that those who follow Him will face difficulties (Jn 16:33). This doesn’t mean that we actively go looking for the path that promises the most pain and discomfort, but it does mean that we can’t avoid it either if that is the path that God wants us to walk.
When considering this, it is instructive to look at Jesus’ temptation. As you are probably familiar with, Jesus went into the wilderness and for forty days and nights He fasted. During this time, the Devil sought to prompt Him to sin. It was at the end of His time that Satan leveled the most provocative attacks – encouraging Christ to take care of His physical needs, to demonstrate His deity, and to take the “easy” route to establishing His Kingdom. Christ, in His wisdom, refuted every temptation, using the Word of God to do so. Christ made it clear that His reliance was on God the Father and He would not do anything to thwart His purposes.
It’s interesting though to look at how Jesus ended up in the wilderness. Luke 4:1 states that He was led there by the Spirit. God the Father knew what Satan would attempt while Jesus was in solitude and seclusion, yet it was still His will to send Him there. He knew that at the start of His ministry, it was important that Christ demonstrated His complete reliance on His Heavenly Father. If we were scripting it, we might have thought that Christ’s public ministry should have begun with a display of His power. God determined that it should begin with a display of His dependence.
Interestingly enough, when Jesus leaves the time of His wilderness temptation, Luke tells us that He did so “in the power of the Spirit” (Lk. 4:14). Both the start of His temptation and the start of His public ministry were directed by the Spirit’s hand. While we may be prone to rush into the latter and to avoid the other, Jesus knew that following the path that God had prepared was what was most important – whether that led wilderness temptation or to teaching in the synagogues and “being glorified by all” (Lk. 4:15). It wasn’t the easiness of the situation that determine the rightness of the call. It was based solely on God’s purpose and plan for Him.
In the same vein, next time we are faced with a situation where we aren’t sure what to do, may we not be inclined to look at what is easiest or what we most desire, but may our heart’s cry to go where the Spirit leads. May we rely on God’s direction for our life – trusting that even in the “valley of the shadows of death” He is there beside His children – providing the comfort and the power that they need to overcome the Devil’s schemes (See Ps. 23:4). May our commitment be to serve Him and HIs purposes – regardless of the steepness of the path – and to do so in a manner that pleases Him.
