Struggle

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

There is a shock for some people once they make a choice to accept Jesus as their savior. The shock comes in realizing there is still struggle in their lives. This may come in the form of an illness, death, financial hit, an "unanswered prayer" or a myriad of other ways. The truth is, there will always be struggle. It's where we are right now.

Originally, God's plan involved us and no struggle. That was the Garden of Eden. We were given a beautiful planet, abundant food and rich adventure. God told us to go and tame the earth. He wanted us to walk with Him, share our stories, and give our hearts to Him. Unfortunately, satan tempted Adam and Eve and they walked away from God's gift. As a result of following satan, we are under his rule, but only for a time.

A day is coming when Jesus will return and reclaim the earth. It will be remade into a place without struggle. All of us who have placed our lives under His authority will be resurrected with new bodies free of hurt and disease. Perfect again. Remember, that is the future.

For now, we walk with Him. When Jesus spoke the words in the Gospel of Matthew, He was telling people of a new way to follow God. They no longer needed all the 600+ rules and regulations they were being subjected to by their leaders. Instead, He boiled it down to only two broad categories.

1) Love God with all your heart
2) Love neighbors as yourself

That's it. These two commandments are summaries for the 10 Commandments God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. That's all we need to see God's standard. We have a rod we will be measured with. As we try to live for God, by His standard, there is struggle. As Christians, we fix our eyes on Jesus and ask Him to help us through. We submit our lives to Him. We live for His glory, and not our own.