What happened? Is it over?

When my father-in-law, Harvey Smith retired he finally had Sundays off; he and his wife, Helen, began the weekly venture of going to church. One Saturday night he telephoned. “Do you know that it’s hard work working for the Lord?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, I went to ‘Work Day’ at the church yesterday. I came home all sore and with aching muscles! Helen told me, “Don’t complain, you were working for the Lord. I told her that it sure felt like I was working for Hap Whipple! That little man (straw boss of the day) is so skinny he looks like the handle on the lawn mower I was pushing.” (Unlike people living in Arizona, those  in the Northwest, where we grew up, have lawns.)

It didn’t quite ring true to Dad that Whipple could send several men twice his size home with aching muscles. He said, “I found out you get just as tired working for the Lord as you do working for yourself.”

I laughed. But isn’t it true with all of us? We become enthused about doing something for God. We roll up our sleeves, plunge in, only to find it is hard work. Worse yet, sometimes there is opposition. The doors of success and progress still seem to move on creaking hinges—if they open at all. The romance of the thing goes out the window when the project does not roll out easily, the way “we” planned.

Meeting with rejection or criticism, we often respond with rebellion. “O.K., God, if that’s how they’re going to treat me--forget it! You can get someone else to do it.”

We want to be holy; we long to do what enhances God’s kingdom, but we also want things to go our way. We want some appreciation and maybe a little recognition, right?

Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon your shoulders . . . my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He also said to count the cost before starting “to build.” There seems to be a bit of a dichotomy. Perhaps this can only be resolved by putting the whole picture together.

The Bible teaches us to link our lives with Christ through reading God’s Word (the Bible). Doing so brings contentment, joy, great love and peace! Plus, assurance of eternal life! Jesus left what must have held “glorious splendors” in heaven to come to earth and become our Savior. He counted the cost and said, “Yes.”

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry there was a period of popularity.  People flocked to see His miracles. But in comparison to the multitudes who came, only a handful were touched permanently by His love. Shortly, opposition set in. You know the story. Jesus followed the destiny laid out for Him --to the cross . . . and to the grave from whence He arose as we  will also arise.

Perhaps you or I will not be asked to die a martyr’s death, but we have been commissioned to lay down our lives daily in the making of frequent choices—choices which embrace His will rather than our own. We are called to die to our inner, carnal drives and preconceived ideas . . . the desire to be appreciated and recognized—and to have some power here on earth. Instead, the Lord calls us to serve. Out of love alone.

When we have done our best to follow what we believe He has asked of us, then we meet with opposition. Solace comes in knowing that He, too, was criticized and misunderstood. Even the greatest gift humankind could ever receive—redemption through Christ’s death on the cross—was not understood and appreciated by most. In fact the religious leaders of the day persecuted Him. Jesus warned His followers not to expect better treatment.

So, how is it that Jesus said, “His burden is light?” It is light only when we embrace the truth of His having gone before us. He suffered in all ways as we do, even more! Yet, He conquered all temptations, all the drives and emotions you and I experience.

As we know, within our life spans we meet up with some times of frustration, disappointment, failures and physical difficulties. There are times of grief, even periods of sensing spiritual depletion, if only momentarily. What gives hope while we are feeling unsure, questioning or perplexed, are passages like Romans 8:18-19: “For consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

With Christmas passed many will have enjoyed it as a holiday, a time to exchange gifts. Wrappings and bows are gone. But let’s not miss the greatest of all gifts--Jesus came--as Savior to  the world! It was a rescue venture! It opened a door through which, by choice, we can enter—becoming children of God. Yes. It is a choice. We can’t simply fall through that doorway to heaven because Grandma prayed for us long ago.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).