I remember after being baptized that I began to see things in a new way. I appreciated the beauty of creation, the majesty of the mountains. At the time I didn’t realize what was happening, but now I recognize that my world had been turned upside-down.
Christianity is a Challenge
Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, even the ones who hate us. He tells us to forgive those who have hurt us. He tells us to pray for our enemies. He tells us to turn the other cheek. He tells us not to worry about the little day-to-day needs of life, that God will provide. He tells us to depend not on ourselves, but on God. He tells us to give our lives away for others, even if they don’t appreciate it. (Mt 5:38)
These are all revolutionary, counter-cultural ideas. They are not easy. They are simple. They are truthful. But they are the greatest challenge we face in our lives. Christianity is a challenge.
Thank God for Grace
The Gospel isn’t a fairy tale. The Gospel is hardcore stuff. It takes all that we see as normal and pushes it out of the way to usher in a new way of life. This way of life is Christianity. What Jesus taught is simple, yet for most of us it is extremely difficult to put it into practice. Why do you think that is? Because it requires that we put ourselves last—after God and our neighbor. That alone is a big deal.
Fortunately for us, God offers us the help we need to make His Kingdom a reality. We call this gift grace. This is God sharing His life with us, injecting us with holiness, filling us with Himself. Only through His grace are we able to even attempt the Christian life. And that’s what God wants. He knows, as well as we do, that we will fail, that we’re not perfect. But He also gives us what we need on our journey toward sainthood where we will share completely in His life in Heaven.