day no. 17,088: noble things are difficult

“If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome.” — Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

No one is a Christian by accident. No one comes to faith and stays faithful because they could not help it. There is no such thing as cruise control Christianity. You cannot set it and forget it. There is no self-driving vehicles of faith. It takes intention. No one trips into Heaven. No one falls into righteousness. You cannot slip into sanctification the way you can into sin. Dying to your self is not your default. Carrying our own crosses does not come naturally to us.

Part of what makes noble things noble is how rare they are. They are not noble because they are rare per se, they are rare because nobility is hard work and hard work is too hard for most. The easy path is what makes men and rivers crooked. The straight and narrow never caves to the pressure to broaden its horizons. As a result, the flow of traffic on the right path does not often create a traffic jam. That is why those on the right path have all the fun of putting the pedal to the metal without any of the problems of multiple car pile ups.

The Christian faith is one of uncommon grit in a world of common grace.