I recently heard Ken Davis make the statement that, “There is no such thing as a comfortable faith.” How many of us believe that, or at least live as if it were true? It reminds me of a question A.W. Tozer asked years ago, “Have the saints of God joined the mad scramble for security?” Modern day Christianity looks awfully comfortable, and it seems few are willing to run towards the battle. We want the benefits of Heaven without having to go through Hell to get them. This may resonate with our modern ears, but it’s not the life Jesus modeled for His disciples.
If we want to make an impact for the Kingdom of God, we’re going to have to get a little uncomfortable. In fact, we will need to get a lot uncomfortable. Jesus said that He didn’t come to bring peace, but rather a sword (Matthew 10:34). He knew His message would convict those who heard it, cutting them to the bone. No one who hears what Jesus did for them can ever live in peace without Him again. We know too much. We are too aware of our shortcomings. He bled and died so that we might live, and He demands nothing less from us. If we aren’t willing to lose our life for His sake, we will never have a life at all (Luke 17:33). That’s an uncomfortable thought.
Jesus said that those who loved Him would do what He commanded them to do (John 14:15). That means we’re going to have to get a little messy. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty. Love isn’t accomplished from a distance; it is demonstrated by a smile, a touch, and a hug. It’s not comfortable going into the poor and desperate areas of our society. It isn’t comfortable to take the coat off your back in sub-zero weather and give it to someone on the street. It’s not comfortable to care for the sick, the hurt, and the marginalized; but it does look like Jesus.
A comfortable faith is a counterfeit faith. If you are more concerned with your comfort and security than you are your neighbor’s, you are not expressing a faith consistent with what Jesus taught (Mark 12:29-31). In our age of retirement funds, three car garages, giant grocery stores, and home theaters, we are relentlessly tempted to succumb to the comfort and numbness of our society. Behind every dollar spent on our comfort are a cackling demon and a dying child somewhere in the world. How’s that for an uncomfortable thought?
How comfortable is your faith? Are you daring greatly for the sake of Jesus? Do you finish each day knowing you have put the needs of others ahead of your own? Are you caring for the poor, the hungry, and the sick (Matthew 25:31-46)? When was the last time you really got uncomfortable by serving Christ? Our faith is not expressed sitting in air conditioned pews on Sundays. It is demonstrated by the gritty, private, and thankless deeds we are called to do each day. This week, let’s make it our priority to get really uncomfortable.