Do you know any Christians who make being a Christian “harder than it should be”? Some folks look at living the Christian life as a “hard” thing to do (and certainly some things are “difficult,” Matt. 7:14), but most of the time what folks are doing is making it “harder” in their heads than it actually is.
Folks say things like, “The elders want me to go to church three times a week. I’m not sure how I’m going to do that.” Or, “I can’t keep up with this Bible reading schedule. It’s way too much, so I need to take a break.” Or, “I don’t get to go out with my friends, because they’re going places that I’m not supposed to go and doing things that I probably shouldn’t be doing.”
Friends, so much of this is just a matter of the heart. “As [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). When you throw your heart into living for Jesus, things like this stop being “hard” and start being “fun,” “desired” and “preferred.” Is all-out living for Jesus your “preferred” lifestyle?