Comfort vs. Christ

I am quite positive that I am not the first to publish ideas or thoughts on the world's pursuit of comfort, but it has become an overwhelming topic for me as of late. The world is full of imperfect people of which I am most certainly a rivalry of the most imperfect that would be considered as such- yet, there is one thing that God has been able to get through to me: He is God. A simple statement, I know- but the profound'ness' of this statement is found in the fact that we truly begin to live life as He intended when we move beyond the mere utterance of these words and into the experiential living of them. "God being God" becomes a peaceful thought instead of a legalistic pressure- a calming truth instead of an overbearing rule. We come to realize that no person who possesses the kind of power that God indeed possess would ever give away something that could somehow compromise the way others perceive his power and would most likely never see the need to give something dear to his heart for the sake of others.

Enter Jesus- the Son of God- the precious, passionate Savior. He exited the splendor of Heaven for the lowliness of this world in accordance with the will of God. On the night of His "flesh-birth" Jesus was laid in a wooden feed trough full of hay- not a gentle, flowing blanket within the protective confines of a crib. His "uncomfortable life" began and as the years passed there were many "uncomfortable" moments and days, relationships and heartache, but Jesus would have never left Heaven if He had only been concerned with His own comfort. His death which became our atoning sacrifice would certainly have never happened if He had made the choice that it was too great of a discomfort. I am so glad and so humbled that He chose to show His love the way that He did and now I am challenged as His disciple to follow His example.

How can such a task be accomplished by someone like me who's death would never serve as an atonement for anyone? How can the time God has given me on this earth have an eternal significance at all in as Christ's life did? I have come to the conclusion that the best thing I can do; the one thing Jesus commanded that I do: to point people to Him. Jesus said to make disciples- as He did, of ALL nations. In this task there is no time to dwell on personal comfort. The eternal destiny of too many hangs in the balance and when that balance tilts towards what I want for me, it tilts away from Jesus and those around me that need to hear about Him get carried along for the ride.

Comfort of this world's provisions kills disciple-making and calls our testimony into question. Comfort distracts us from the most important thing we will ever do and from the most important One we will ever know. Pursuit of comfort of the worldly kind actually keeps us from knowing the peaceful comfort of of abiding in Jesus Christ and it is killing the church's witness in the world. When the church decides that consistent programs and methods are more important to maintain than relationships that reach people for Christ, a decision has been made to pursue comfort. When individuals demand that worship services must meet their preferences in order for them to "get something out of it", a decision has been made to pursue comfort. When prayer and discipleship are subsequent activities that we continue in order to maintain our identity as a church rather than essential lifelines for spiritual growth, a decision has been made to pursue comfort. I realize that the church is the bride of Christ and His chosen vessel for the spread of the Gospel and as such I want to be clear that this is not an attack on her, but rather an exhortation to lay aside this snare of comfort that so easily entangles her so that she might fulfill the plan that God has for her that Jesus may come back to receive her unto Himself.

Imagine a glorious Sunday when the church has reached a level of unity whereby everyone is happy and comfortable. Everyone has found the right church for them with the right pastor, music and programs and everyone is satisfied and the world around can see the love within the church. What good would that do for those who are lost without Christ? Perhaps they would realize by our love that we are Christians and they would want to give their lives to Jesus, but what if they come in and make us uncomfortable? The chance of a "perfect" church doesn't appear to be a great possibility because as people we tend to have issues that we are always working through, but you don't have to be "perfect" or "comfortable" to be effective for the cause of Christ. What we have to be is passionate and faithful to be everything God has created us to be for His glory so that as we live He will use us (despite our comfort or discomfort) to introduce people to Jesus. We have too little time left to allow our pursuit of worldly comfort to detain us from the most important reason that we live. Share Jesus today!