Why is discipleship so hard?
Discipleship is so hard because you make it hard.
Discipleship itself is not hard at all. In fact, if we look at the teachings of Jesus they are not very difficult.
Feed the hungry.
Clothe the naked.
Worship the Lord alone.
Tell others about Jesus.
The teachings of Jesus are pretty simple, straight-forward, and don't require a lot of thought.
So why so hard?
The difficulty is within you. The difficulty is in deciding to follow Jesus. It is a struggle between your desires and God's will. It is a battle between your logic and God's instruction.
Adam and Eve
Let's go back, way back. The story of Adam and Eve reveal the struggle with our logic and God's instruction. (Refer to Genesis 3)
If we think about the temptation set before Eve, logically it made sense. Certainly knowing the difference from good and evil makes sense. Don't we teach our children from the moment they are born about right and wrong?
Don't we like the taste of good food? If the fruit tastes good then certainly we should eat it.
And, look how hard we struggle to live as long as we can.
And, isn't a goal of faith to be like God? "Be perfect like God is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
And, wasn't Adam and Eve created in the likeness of God? (Genesis 1:26-27)
You have to admit, the temptations by Satan all seem to make logical sense.
Human Logic Verses God's Wisdom
The problem was that God said not to eat of that specific tree. It is a simple equation of human logic verses God's wisdom.
Refraining from eating of that tree was a simple task. Adam and Eve had the entire rest of the fruits and nuts in that garden they could have chosen to eat. Too easy. The battle was within themselves.
Gates and Roads
Jesus once said "Broad is the gate and easy is the road that leads to destruction and many take it. Narrow is the gate and hard is the road that leads to life but few will find it." Matthew 7:13-14.
In one sense, it does seem that Jesus is saying discipleship is hard. But it is only hard because we must make a choice.
Do we deny ourselves, our thoughts, our desires, our beliefs, our logic, what sounds good to us, what makes us feel good, or do we just listen to God?
You see, it is really about you making a decision about you.
God didn't make it complex. The teaching of Jesus aren't difficult. We make discipleship hard.
Perhaps this is why Jesus said, to be his disciple you will have to deny yourself. Matthew 16:24
Next time you think following Christ is hard, stop thinking and just do what Jesus taught. Don't over analyze it. Don't make it harder than it needs to be.
Jesus will never lead you wrong.
