The Easy Way Out
Have you ever thought about cheating? Maybe on a test or in a game when it looked like cheating was an easy way to win? It may not have been the only option, but definitely a much easier way. But we’ve all heard the saying “cheaters never win and winners never cheat.”
Well it’s the same way in our walk with Christ. Sometimes due to our surrounding circumstances or tests and trials we want to quit. Maybe not commit suicide or anything drastic like that but just give up. Sometimes trying to keep up the ‘godly’ image that everyone expects you to have gets tough when you’re about to blow. Sometimes when you continuously fall into the same trap time, after time, after time, it gets so frustrating that you even ask God to give up on you. And sometimes like Elijah we feel ready for God to take us home because we’re tired of doing it “alone”.
I can definitely attest to all of the above. The way we talk about Heaven it seems like such a better place to be. No problems, no worries, having the best time worshipping our Father at His throne with the other angels. Where EVERYONE is a believer! It sounds so much sweeter than my life: such an easy way out.
But then Jesus asks me, “What would happen if I took the ‘easy way out’?” If I would have said, “You know what, you all are right. I am the King of the Jews. Matter of fact, I’m the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and I am more than able to come down off this cross and prove it. Yes these thorns and nails hurt. So do the bite marks and my scourged back, not to mention I haven’t slept all night and I’m sore. But besides the physical pain I’m in, how about my own dad had to turn His back on me. Do you know how that feels? Well that’s ok because I bore it all for you and REFUSED to take the ‘easy way out.’”
WOW! I told myself, He did do all that for me and I’m more than grateful. I’m ok with living for Him and I can keep going on, although times get hard, because He did. But I still feel like I’m the only one sometimes.
He said that’s alright for a couple of reasons. Number one— I’m not; number two—He’s there; and number three— even if it wasn’t for numbers one and two, THAT’S WHY HE SAVED ME! To go win other souls! So I’ll never be alone even when I get to heaven. I was placed on this earth for other people, NOT for myself. Everything I go through is for someone else besides myself. And imagine, for every one person I touch with my life, they touch someone else’s so now that’s two! Imagine if every one person touched another one person, how many people could we save?
So I’ll endure hard times like a good soldier, not just so I can tell God when I get there that I’ve kept the faith, but because I know that I’m not going up there alone. I am going the way God intended me to go and I’m not going to take the easy way out. Thank God He didn’t take the easy way out either!
~DeAnna Pruitte