Being born in a feeding trough, and having a powerful ruler wanting him dead isnt the greatest of starts...some time after that his entire family left Jerusalem without him; after a day they realize this and decide it is probably a good idea to figure out where the saviour of the world went off to, after three days they finally find him learning in the temple. He learned the scriptures apart from the rabbis and teachers of his day. He learned the scriptures from beginning to end. He walked in total obedience, and although it ticked off many people; especially the religious folk, "It is written" was his reasoning behind his actions. He does the carpenter and learning thing for 30 years. He is baptized by his cousin and IMMEDIATELY he is thrown into the wilderness to be tempted be the devil for forty nights with no food... he doesn't give in once! He then recruits the worst group of guys (socially speaking) to help represent him and do his work; for instance, he chooses a few not so good fishermen a man with very little itelligence, a man with an explosive temper and ego, a greedy and prideful man, a betrayer, a tax-collector (translation; the lowest of lows in his day, they were hated even viewed as criminals!), a man who would eventually deny any relation to him, a skeptic, a man who hated anyone who compromised Rome and even killed over it, a man who constantly doubted. Jesus knew all of these traits about all of these men he chose, yet he still chose them. Convenient? Maybe if webster isnt the dictionary you use to define it.
Jesus Preforms over 34 miracles and healings and people questioned him and persecuted him because of the WAY he preformed them, Jesus multiplies food instead of creating it out of thin air (which He could have done easily) Jesus answered questions with questions, jesus was betrayed by a friend, and nother friend denies even knowing him, he is interrogated and mocked and put on trial for being a rebel, he was dondemned by the very people he came to save, he was killed by the same people he tried to help live, the people who are the reason for the neding of his life can now have a new life because of it.
We say Jesus lived the perfect life yet it had to be the most inconvenient one he could have lived. Convenience is; the state of being able to proceed with something with little effort or difficulty. Since Jesus was also God I think a snap of the finger would have been the most convenient way to live his life.
Comfort is; a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Again since Jesus was also God I think he could have chosein to die just like most Americans wish they will...warm and in their bed. But Jesus didnt snap his finger and he didnt just slip away in his sleep, he was very intentional in his life and very uncomfortable in his death.
We know all of this as Christians. Knowing what Christ did for us is the foundation of our faith in him, so whay do we assume that he did all he did so that we can live a live that doesnt require any of it? The only thing he did so that we wouldnt have too, was die and go to hell.In everything else he calls us to follow him. To follow him through the persecution, through the teptations (not into them, through them), Follow him through the suffering, follow him through the mocking, the betrayals, the denials, the miracles, the healings, and possibly through the physical death. "Follow me" is what he asked of each of his ordinary (maybe below ordinary) disciples, and as they followed him; the anger turned to compassion, the lacking in intelligence gained wisdom, the pride turned to humility, the collector gave, the skeptic and the doubter believed, and the murderer saved and the fishers of fish became fishers of men. The ordinary men did extraordinary things.
A life for God is hard, it has to be intentional, it is rarely convenient and it is rarely comfortable, but it is the only life that is worth it. Are you living a life is worth the price he pride, or are you living a life with no value at all?
