Not Easy but Worth It

Just the second time I went riding with my friend Michael he took me up the hardest hill I've ever climbed. It's over a mile long and quite steep, reaching a 20% grade in some sections. Several months later Michael told me that he used the hill to find out who would actually become a serious cyclist. If they made it up, they would. If not, they wouldn't. I made it up, but it wasn't easy. Endurance cycling is not easy. You have to ride through fatigue and pain. You have to keep going when you feel like quitting. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

Some people have the false idea that becoming a Christian will make life easier. They think that God will solve all their problems for them and that everything will fall neatly into place in their lives. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In 2 Timothy 2:3 Paul told Timothy: "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

The analogy that Paul makes is even better than the analogy to cycling. Soldiers know when they sign up that it isn't going to be easy. But they do believe that it will be worth it. The work they do as soldiers for their country will help keep their homeland and families secure and free. So the hardship is worthwhile.

We need to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Yes, we are at war against the enemy, Satan. We can expect that he will regularly attack us and make our sevice to Christ difficult and discouraging. Hardship will come our way if we faithfully serve the Lord. Even though we don't belong to this world we are in the world and the world is not our friend. Even our own flesh will battle against the Spirit as we seek to serve Christ.

If we endure hardship for the sake of Christ, however, there will be a reward. That reward will be much better than the reward of fitness that comes from being an endurance cyclist. That reward is the crown of righteousness. It is the crown of life, eternal life with Jesus Christ.

So the next time life seems extra hard, and you're wondering where God is in the hardships you are having to endure, remember that Jesus never said it would be easy, he only said it would be worth it.