Then again I also hear that Christianity is easy...
Okay, now I'm just super confused. Is it easy or is it hard?
For the time being, let's just go with both. Christianity is easy. But it is also pretty hard. I like to think of it like the popular show, Wipeout. The premise behind Wipeout is one of the easiest you will find: Get from point A to point B. No one gets confused by what you are supposed to do in the show. It isn't like you will ever see a contestant take off running in the wrong direction. Wipeout in that sense is incredibly easy.
But we all are well aware of the fact that Wipeout is really not easy. At all. Because point A and point B are not simply two spots on a leisurely path through a park. No, there are obstacles. Obstacles with the entire purpose of not only getting contestants off the path, but also hurting them in the process. Well, maybe not hurting them seriously, but some of those have to be pretty painful.
So let's look at Christianity in this light. First Christianity is easy. At least in premise. Christianity really boils down to following Christ. We try to get from point A which looks a lot like the super broken sinful self, to point B which looks a lot like the person of Jesus Christ. That is really the goal. Jesus said that the entire law can be summed up by two commands: Love God and love people. Easy. That is all there is to it really. You could pretty much explain this to a child and they would understand. Christianity is not complicated.
Sure you can certainly discuss things in theology that can get super complicated. Just like you can really dive into the physics that are at play in Wipeout, but when you really get down to it, Christianity is not that hard.
Now I say that to say that Christianity is really hard. Sure it's easy enough to know what to do. the problem is there is another factor at work that really doesn't want you to get to point B. There are spiritual forces at work that are basically launching tennis balls at you while you are trying to get through the obstacles of life. And yes, there will absolutely be obstacles in life. Christians lose loved ones. Christians get laid off and fired. Christian relationships end. Christian friends stab each other in the back. I'm not saying this is all how it is supposed to be, but they do happen.
Too often people go into Christianity assuming that once they become a Christian they gain some super power that combines Superman with a ghost and a ninja. So no matter the obstacle they simply avoid it or power through it effortlessly as if it weren't there. Obstacles don't go away.
While obstacles don't go away, there is some good news. When you are a Christian there will always be a way for you to get back on the course. There will always be a hand that will help you over a wall that you don't think you can climb. That is what Christ offers. It isn't that you suddenly become better. You are just as incapable of getting through the obstacles alone as you ever were. You just get to go through it with help.
So yes, Christianity is easy. And yes, Christianity is hard. And yes, I have started three sentences in a row with conjunctions, and every English teacher I have ever had will find this paragraph disgraceful. So here is the trick: keep striving for point B. You will fall and you will struggle. More importantly you will always have help. You will always have an ally. Then when you finally finish you can here, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Doesn't point B sound amazing?
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