I think we’ve been given the wrong idea. I think that somewhere between today and when Peter and Paul were walking the earth, we decided that they had it wrong. That they made Christianity hard, and if they had just done it better, then it wouldn’t have been so hard for them.
But I think that comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian.
I think we’ve equated something that is simple — believing that Jesus is the Lord — and thought that because it is simple, it should be easy.
And because I thought it was simple, and therefore easy, I stopped trying.
I stopped trying to see what God wants me to be. And because I stopped trying, I stopped growing. When I stopped growing, I started dying.
I had to re-learn that following Jesus is Hard. Not just hard, but it’s quite possibly the hardest thing I can do. That this journey is meant to be something that takes my entire life.
Peter explains in the beginning of First Peter that I am called to be Holy. Peter isn’t the one calling me to Holiness — God calls me to be holy in ALL of my conduct. All of it. Every. Single. Piece.
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13–16
Following the call of God is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. The most challenging thing that I’ve ever even heard of.
It is so much more than just believing in Jesus. It’s a daily examination of my thoughts and actions, my intentions and my actual follow-through. Holding onto the things that are good, and striving to get rid of the things that aren’t.
That’s why Paul talks about this dual nature that he wrestles with every day. He continually has to confront this enemy within himself, which constantly pushes him towards things that are genuinely appealing to who he was, but those things are in stark opposition to what God is calling him to.
He talks about this fighting he has to do, that he struggles, strains, works, and conditions his Spirit so that he can continually fight through to keep from losing his desire to continue in his faith. He says he has to do it and he doesn’t paint the picture with an alternative.
Paul and Peter didn’t get following Jesus wrong; they showed me what it means to follow Jesus at all.
Neither Paul nor Peter ever reached perfection, and neither will I. This climb towards Holiness is a journey to a destination I can’t reach from this side of life, but every step the Spirit guides me to take, even the smallest shuffle of my feet towards him, pulls me closer to what God has called me to. Because it is in the struggle that we really are made new.