The Gift of Hardship
I just read a newsletter from a missionary who is in a country that can't be named. He refers to it as "Narnia." What he wrote really resonated with me having just returned from Ethiopia. Sometimes convenience is a curse. Here are some excerpts:
The last two weeks I have been enjoying how easy North America is. All of the roads are paved and well marked. I can use a visa card to buy petrol at the pump. Machines in the bank "read" the checks I deposit and spit out a receipt. At the post office a machine weighs my letters and spits out a stamp. I can connect my computer to my cell phone and send e-mail from anywhere. I can buy anything off the Internet and have it shipped to my house. Everything works, everything is relatively inexpensive, everything is designed for convenience.
The ease of life also carries over into spiritual things. There are churches in every town. There are Christian bookstores, radio stations, periodicals, conferences, and information everywhere. We constantly meet people who love Jesus in banks, post offices, and public parks. Ironically, it is this ease of spirituality which can make it more difficult to love and serve Jesus with diligent obedience.
In the words of G.K. Chesterton:
"The point is, that the [Christians in America] are not left alone, but rather deafened and bewildered with raucous and despotic advice. They are not like sheep without a shepherd. They are more like one sheep whom twenty-seven shepherds are shouting at."
I know that in Narnia we sometimes wish for more freedom, convenience, and availability of teaching. I want to encourage you to be careful what you wish for. There is a blessing inherent to living in a country that is frustrating, isolated, and spiritually challenging. In some ways it is easier to live for Jesus in Narnia because there are fewer distractions.
So my friends and the saints of Narnia, let us be thankful for every frustration, opposition, and inconvenience. They unwittingly serve as a filter--they allow our souls to remain uncluttered and our attention fixed on the one true Shepherd. In difficult times and difficult places, Jesus tends to be heard much more clearly. What a gift the hardship of Narnian living affords us. Let us be sure to take advantage of it.
The last two weeks I have been enjoying how easy North America is. All of the roads are paved and well marked. I can use a visa card to buy petrol at the pump. Machines in the bank "read" the checks I deposit and spit out a receipt. At the post office a machine weighs my letters and spits out a stamp. I can connect my computer to my cell phone and send e-mail from anywhere. I can buy anything off the Internet and have it shipped to my house. Everything works, everything is relatively inexpensive, everything is designed for convenience.
The ease of life also carries over into spiritual things. There are churches in every town. There are Christian bookstores, radio stations, periodicals, conferences, and information everywhere. We constantly meet people who love Jesus in banks, post offices, and public parks. Ironically, it is this ease of spirituality which can make it more difficult to love and serve Jesus with diligent obedience.
In the words of G.K. Chesterton:
"The point is, that the [Christians in America] are not left alone, but rather deafened and bewildered with raucous and despotic advice. They are not like sheep without a shepherd. They are more like one sheep whom twenty-seven shepherds are shouting at."
I know that in Narnia we sometimes wish for more freedom, convenience, and availability of teaching. I want to encourage you to be careful what you wish for. There is a blessing inherent to living in a country that is frustrating, isolated, and spiritually challenging. In some ways it is easier to live for Jesus in Narnia because there are fewer distractions.
So my friends and the saints of Narnia, let us be thankful for every frustration, opposition, and inconvenience. They unwittingly serve as a filter--they allow our souls to remain uncluttered and our attention fixed on the one true Shepherd. In difficult times and difficult places, Jesus tends to be heard much more clearly. What a gift the hardship of Narnian living affords us. Let us be sure to take advantage of it.
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