I lived in a communist country for 2 years. You quickly learn that the government controls everything, and in order to succeed, you must play along. All “good” jobs are regulated by The Party—whether you seek to be a teacher, an actor, a reporter, or a doctor. Before you can find a job in any professional setting, you must also be a member of The Party. In order to join the Party, you must renounce your faith.

My friend Dave recently left his well paying and secure business job after four years. He was tired of being pressured by his boss to lie to his clients.

The Lord has asked Tom, Shannon, and their daughter Abigail to live in an impoverished and gang infested area of Los Angeles, that they might be a light to their neighbors.

There is no such thing as a comfortable Christian. Following Christ costs. Jesus never claimed otherwise. At times it is a willing sacrifice of obedience. At others, it is persecution. In both circumstances it is faith in the hope that we have, and confident assurance of Him who gives us this hope that motivates and sustains us beyond all circumstance.

the danger of comfort

There is a movement today in Christian circles that seems to advocate both God and comfort.  The idea of suffering is so far removed from the American mindset that it has affected our faith as well.  Lack of comfort may be actually interpreted as the result of sin, rather than the result of following Christ.  And yet when you look at Christ’s life, the very opposite is true.  Comfort is dangerous because it numbs us to the needs around us.  It is a sign of our ineffectiveness as believers.

Christians are not masochists.  We do not need to seek out suffering for the Lord.  Persecution will find us if we are walking daily with the Lord, being obedient to Him, and glorifying Him in this world.  James writes in chapter 4, “…Or do you not know, brothers, that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (v.4).  Friends are not persecuted, enemies are.  And why does (or why should) the world hate us so much?  Paul writes to the Corinthian church “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.  And who is equal to such a task?” (2nd Cor. 2:15-16).  The smell of death is not pleasant, it is repulsive.  It is uncomfortable to be that smell.  It makes others uncomfortable.  And yet to those who are being saved, it is hope, it is encouragement to continue in the faith, it is life.  You cannot be both.

And while many suburban Christians are living in numbing comfort, it is not to say that the Lord does not want you to be successful in your vocations.  Instead, we should be the best workers in our fields, for we are to work as for the Lord and not for man (Col. 3:23).  That too is a testimony to those around us, and if the Lord allows us to prosper in our fields, we should rejoice.  But it is imperative to understand, the Lord never blesses us in order to make us comfortable.  One of the families I worked with in Asia were very successful in their business.  After several years, David felt that the Lord wanted him to have what he termed “a year of jubilee”.  He and Kelly examined their budget of the last year and determined exactly what they needed in order to live.  They then made a commitment to give away everything that they made over this budget for the following year.  The first week of January David landed the biggest contract of his life.  The giving began that week.  We please the Lord when we have hearts that are not self-seeking and longing for security, but hearts of faith that trust greatly and obey.  This is a life the Lord can use, and a life that stands out in the world.

we are homeless

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking fo that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:13-16

Following Christ costs.  Here.  Here, however, is not our home.  We all too often live with the misconception that this is home, that we belong here.  Living according to this truth would naturally encourage a desire for comfort, a desire to make one feel at home.  Living as if now is temporary, however, encourages an entirely different drive.  Abraham was willing to leave family and home to wander the desert after God’s will (Heb. 11:8-12).  Christ never settled in a town because he had to be about the work of the Father.  Paul never made a home after encountering Christ.  These men understood two key truths–following the Lord is the greatest priority at any cost, and home is to come.  When you begin to live for eternity rather than the present your perspective changes.  Time here seems extremely short and temporary.  You see those around you as eternal as well, and subsequently there is a sense of urgency in making the Lord known.  A right perspective gives you peace in the midst of suffering, and greater hope in what is ahead.  A right perspective frees us to give and to sacrifice now for the joy that is to come.

application

~How has your walk with the Lord been the stench of death to others?  The fragrance of life?

~Would you be willing to leave all you have, to give away what you’ve worked for to follow Christ?  What would be the hardest thing to give up?

~Read over Hebrews 11.  Why were these men able to endure?  Where was their hope?

~Read 2 Corinthians 4:8-18.  How does Paul describe his life?  Why does he call such suffering light and momentary?  Where is his hope?

~Where is your hope?  Does your life reflect this hope?

prayer

Please go to www.operationworld.org and pray for the country listed in “pray today”.  Specifically pray for the Christians there, both native and expatriates, that are giving up their homes and livelihoods here for the sake of Christ.