Blog
The Perfect Conditions
This morning after running five miles with rubber legs and heavy lungs, up and down hills, hot and sweaty, I hit a long flat stretch with a light breeze. Ahhhh! "Now this is the perfect condition for running," I thought. "If it could just be like this all the time, I would be happy."
And it occurred to me ... that's how we want life to be. The perfect conditions so we can be happy.
No disappointments, no losses, no pain, no sickness. Nothing that stretches us. Nothing that forces us to change. Nothing that makes us sad. Nothing that scares us.
We want to wake up every morning fully refreshed, do work that is deeply satisfying, delight in our obedient children, have limitless energy, spend time with heart knit friends, enjoy the most unselfish mate ever, and go to bed thankful for another perfect day.
Maybe that would make us happy, but it would also make us shallow, boring, restless, purposeless, detached, and delusional.
If I am simply running to have a nice time, I want perfect conditions. However, most runners have goals such as running marathons, getting stronger, getting faster, burning more calories, or heart health. Those goals are achieved by challenging ourselves or by being challenged.
For Christ followers, our goals are to know Him, be like Him and make Him known. That doesn't happen in an easy life. Jesus promised we would have trouble. He also said we needed to deny ourselves every day in order to follow Him. He said we would be hated. And that to be like Him means going through suffering.
That's why the majority of people don't "sign up" for it. But for those of us who have?
Joy indescribable.
I'll take that over "happy" any day.
"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10
What living conditions do you want?
Comments
No comments yet, be the first!
Post a Reply
Comments are no longer accepted on this entry because it was posted more than one month ago.
