Did Heroes of the Bible Look for an Easy Life?
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Proverbs 17:25 (ESV) “A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him”
The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.– H.G.Wells
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”– G.K.Chesterton
Are You Lookin’ for an Easy Life in Jesus?
Matthew 11:30(NIV) “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
John10:10 (NIV) “I have come that you might have life and might have it to the full!
John15:18,20 (NIV) “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first…‘No servant is greater than his master…If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
John16:33 (NIV) “In this world you will have trouble.” 2Corinthians 1:5 (NIV) “the sufferings of Christ flow over in to our lives”
2 Corinthians1:8-9 (NIV) “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.”
2 Corinthians6:4-5 (NIV) “Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; 5 troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;”
2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (NIV) “…I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
Quit Lookin’ for An Easy Life. Look for A Better Life
Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV) “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
James 1:2-4 (ESV) “Count it all joy,..when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you maybe perfect and completely, lacking in nothing.”
You Don’t Want an Easy Life. You want Peace.
John 16:33 (NIV) “…in this world, you will have trouble”
“If God were our one and only desire we would not be so easily upset when our opinions do not find outside acceptance.” — Thomas A ’Kempis,
Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
You Don’t Want An Easy Life. You Want A Meaningful Life.
“Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure.” — G.K. Chesterton
Hebrews 11:36-39 (NIV) “Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheep skins and goat skins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised”
Hebrews 12:1b-3 (NIV) “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
