My friend, Jennifer, has been married for over 30 years, and most of those years she would confess have been very, very hard. Her husband has a steady job, he’s responsible, he isn’t physically abusive, he doesn’t fool around – he even attends church regularly. So what has made that marriage very, very hard? Jennifer’s husband doesn’t talk to her… he doesn’t relate. He comes home from work, eats dinner, looks through the mail, heads for the couch, and flips through his gun magazines. Although he didn’t think anything was wrong, he said he’d be willing to go with Jennifer to marriage counseling. And there, he said a most curious thing. To the counselor he said, “You know, if everyone would just leave me alone, everything would be fine.” That’s what he wanted. He just wanted to be left alone with no demands, no expectations from others… “just let me be me!”
You know, a lot of Christians – married and single – feel that way. But has Jesus called us to live our lives separate from those around us? Maybe before Christ, you could go through your day not caring and not connecting or relating with people. Maybe then you could live your own life – like Jennifer’s husband – turning a deaf ear to the pain of people around you. Motives may not have mattered in the past, but now, with Christ, they do. And they should. Choices weren’t a big deal before, but now they are. Sin could be glossed over in the old days, but now it can’t.
If you profess Christ, forget about wanting to be left alone… forget about ignoring the demands placed on you or not having to deal with another’s expectations. Because the first thing Jesus does – and it’s what He eventually did with Jennifer’s husband – the first thing the Lord does is to rip open your comfort zones. Jesus doesn’t make it easier for you to live your life the way you want to, uncaring about others’ feelings… He doesn’t make it easier; knowing Him makes it harder.
Matthew 10 puts it this way: “Whoever finds his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it.” If you’re wondering how much it costs to follow the Savior, the answer is, it costs everything. You can’t live your life in a social vacuum. There are no “lone rangers” in the Christian community. We are supposed to think of others first, to lose our lives for their sakes. Knowing Christ means we step out of our comfort zones, get off the couch, and relate to one another, encouraging, uplifting, consoling, and loving one another. It’s what Christians do.
Things are different for Jennifer and her husband now. That marriage is under the domain of Christ and there’s a new, fresh spirit in the home. Are you living in a social vacuum today? Watch out! God may just crash your comfort zones – because you have everything to gain when you lose your life for the sake of Christ.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends