Jesus The Genie

Do you feel that many of us are following Jesus because we think He will somehow make our lives easier? Do we follow Him because we are hoping that all of our problems will disappear?  Is He sitting in some heavenly, magic lamp with promises of a life that is free of suffering...if only you will pray! I have a hard time believing that Jesus has the role of a genie, there to grant our every wish.  In fact, I believe its quite the contrary.

In the New Testament, story after story is a reflection of just how hard life was for those who followed Him.  Even when He was in the flesh, living amongst His apostles, life was not easy for those around Him.  Jesus actually warns us that following Him will entail suffering.  "If anyone comes after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:23).  Many times, it seems that Jesus actually attracts suffering...like a metal rod in a storm.  If you don't believe me, read the gospels or the lives of our saints who were martyred in His name.

To me, this can be a little discouraging.  Call me crazy but I don't particularly like the idea of suffering.  However, in the lives of our most beloved saints, I read story after story of this exact theme.  Men and women who were martyred, many of whom died brutal and gruesome deaths.  And several of us may ask, how did God allow this to happen?  How did He just sit quietly in the background while they were being tortured in His name?  These men and women were dying for Him!  They were dying for His church!  How does God just allow good people to die like that?  Where was He in all of this?

You see, the answer has been sitting in front of me the entire time.  I was just blind to it.  Jesus WAS indeed with those men & women, just as He is with you and I this very moment.  The answer lies in the hearts & minds of the saints, not Jesus.  They figured out what so many of us fail to figure out.  They knew what so many of us spend our entire lives searching for.  They understood that both good & evil are very much real.  However, they also understood that God gives us the gift of freedom to choose the role we play in it.  They were not blind to Him or the choices.  More importantly, the saints were keenly aware of His presence, giving them two virtues that I often lack:  Faith & Peace.

Faith.  Faith that they were put on this earth for a reason.  Faith that their lives meant something, that every life means something.  Faith that we weren't created from slime and muck by pure chance.  Faith that something far greater exists, beyond our imaginations. Faith in Jesus, faith in the bible and faith in the mission of our beautiful church.

Peace.  Peace in knowing that their faith would bring about trials and suffering. Peace in bearing the cross they were given.  Peace in realizing that living a life of Christ doesn't automatically create a world where wishes come true.  Peace in knowing Jesus, truly knowing him with every ounce of their being.  Peace that in the middle of their storm, in the middle of their torment, Jesus was truly with them and ready to welcome them into eternity.  Peace.  Pure and utter peace.  The "I'm sitting on my porch with a glass of sweet tea" kind of peace.  How does one of have peace knowing they are to suffer and die?  Grace, I suppose.

As we are making our journey closer to God, let us be aware that we may very well find ourselves in the midst of suffering.  Maybe we will lose our job.  Maybe a loved one will be diagnosed with cancer.  Maybe the life of our child, husband or wife will be lost in the war.  The "maybes" are unlimited and the realities are harsh.  However, let us not forget that Evil exists...and Evil is strongly attracted to winning back those closest to Christ.  Evil wants us to question our faith & peace.  In the midst of our storms, I pray that we are not blind to the Good.  I pray that He increases our faith & peace so that we may be truly aware of His presence...even in the dark hours of our greatest need.