When I was a little boy my dad and I competed in everything. We would play checkers together, run races together, wrestle with each other, and pretty much turn anything we could into a competition. As a kid all I wanted to do was beat him. In checkers he would usually outsmart me. In a race, he was always faster than I was. When we would wrestle, I definitely did not stand a chance. So, when I found something where I had the upper hand, I made sure to make each victory count. I remember the times my dad and I sat down to play video games. He did not play that often, and he really did not know what all the controls could do. I had been practicing. I had even talked to cousins and friends that taught me the cheat codes in several different games so that I could do special moves that the normal controls would not do. When each game started, I immediately started using every code and trick I knew. I was determined that I was going to win, and I did. I remember bragging about how I beat my dad and how I was the greatest. But the reality is, the victory that I was claiming to have won was not a true victory. While I had technically won, I had not played by a fair set of rules. I got by on a technicality and at the time thought nothing of my actions.
In Matthew 19:16-22, we read the account of a rich young man discussing eternal life with Jesus. This man was seeking what good thing he could do to obtain eternal life. He had kept the law to the best of his ability his entire life and he was a good man by the standards of many, but when Jesus asked him to sell what he had and give to the poor this man went away sorrowful because of his great riches. This one request kept this young man from following Christ as He should.
One of the big problems in our world is that people are always looking for the easy way out. Some even look to do the absolute least amount of work that is humanly possible in everything that they do. Now I totally understand the idea of working smart and not hard, but sometimes the smart way to work is hard and does take some effort. Christianity takes work and discipline. If anybody tells you differently, they are either not a Christian or not living a very faithful life before God. The watered-down religion of people in the world that teach “once saved, always saved” or of Christians that do nothing more than fill a church pew on Sunday morning shows us that people continually seek that broad and easy path in life. Many will choose this path in life and many will be lost because of it. (Matthew 7:13).
As we come to the end of another year and begin anew let us not choose paths because they are easy and require little to no effort. Let us instead choose that narrow and difficult road that leads to eternal life. (Matthew 7:14). For those that are not Christians it is not yet too late. Seek after God, His Kingdom, and His righteousness and put on Christ in penitent baptism. (Matthew 6:33, Acts 2:38, Galatians 3:27). For those of us that are Christians, let us strive to be more than just a warm body in the pews. As we look at passages like 2 Peter 1:5-11 let us strive to grow in our faith and service of our God. Let us produce fruits that are worthy of our God. Let us seek to serve Him all the days of our lives.