Living Christianity is both hard work and a path to joy and freedom.
Examples of having to work at living Christianity include:
- “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24). Putting faith into practice – such as giving up our attachment to worldly goods – is a challenge.
- The bumper sticker “Love your neighbor means everybody” (a reflection on Matthew 22: 34-40: “The greatest commandments are…love the Lord your God….and….love your neighbor as you love yourself.”) speaks to the heart of Christianity and of the Christian faith being hard work. It’s easy to love the people we like. It’s harder to love people who we are naturally inclined to dislike (the disheveled homeless person who went through our trash and left a mess, a political figure we disagree with, the difficult relative, an argumentative person at work, etc.). Yet, “love your neighbor” does mean “everybody” – we don’t get to pick and choose. Many or all aspects of living the Christian faith are required to practice treating everyone with dignity and grace. Loving people is a verb – a self-giving action. If we were all to practice this well (hard work!), the world would be a better place.
- The pastor and writer L. Gregory Jones writes (in his book Embodying Forgiveness) ““Christian forgiveness involves a high cost, both for God and for those who embody it. It requires the disciplines of dying and rising with Christ, disciplines for which there are no shortcuts, no handy techniques to replace the risk and vulnerability of giving up ‘possession’ of one’s self, which is done through the practices of forgiveness and repentance.” Yes, there is a ‘high cost’ to doing forgiveness – but also high rewards.
While there are plenty of examples of how living one’s faith is a lifelong effort (an “ongoing conversion,” in challenging ways such as those noted above), there are also joys:
- “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phillipians 4:7).”
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6).”
- Living faith principles – including surrender to allowing God to transform us – turns us into the people God intends for us to be. God wants us to be happy and will – if we allow it – adjust who we are to that purpose.
- In living out the principles of faith, we contribute positively to our communities – helping to make the world a better place.
- Living faith principles teaches us to bring joy into the lives of other people – which is among the primary reasons for us to be alive. We are all God’s children; bringing joy into the lives of God’s children is a wonderful thing!
The Christian path is a great, joyous path. A loving path that turns us into better people.
Kim Burkhardt blogs at A Parish Catechist and The Books of the Ages (and a member of the Association of Catholic Publishers). If you are a new visitor, it would be great to have you follow this blog (thank you!). If you know someone who would like this blog, please share it with them (thank you!). You can also support this blog by clicking here when you are going to shop on Amazon (that lands A Parish Catechist a commission on Amazon sales).
