“Not Meant to Be Comfortable”

Text: Matthew 10:34-42

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          When choosing a pillow that you’re going to spend 8 hours a night laying your head on, you’re probably not going to choose the one that feels like it’s got a pile of rocks in it. That’s why pillow companies market their pillows as the softest, or the most supportive. Essentially what they’re saying is that this pillow is going to be the most comfortable. And so, we buy them. Because…we all want to be comfortable. We’re always looking for whatever is the most comfortable. The most comfortable shoes to be wearing all day long. Mine is the endless search for the most comfortable recliner to kick back in and watch the baseball game at the end of the day. I’d love to hear what sort of comfort you’re searching for. Because I know that we’re all constantly in search of whatever is going to make life easier and more comfortable for us. And seeking out these types of comfort in this world is perfectly fine, as long as we don’t think that we’re truly meant to be comfortable in this world as followers of Christ.

C.S. Lewis once said, “If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” That very sentiment is reiterated throughout the Gospels. In our reading for today, we’re reminded of the reality of life as a Christian, where Jesus says straight out, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.” We might say, “Actually that is what I thought. Didn’t the angels say on the night Jesus was born, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men.’” And now Jesus is saying, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” We pray for comfort and peace, and we know that ultimately that’s what we’ll have, but Jesus makes it perfectly clear that the peace we’re seeking is going to be hard to come by as His followers here on earth. Because the peace and comfort we’re promised is a peace that surpasses all understanding. Even our earthly understanding of what peace and comfort is. The peace and comfort we’re promised will only come to those who find their life in Christ. And

FINDING OUR LIFE IN CHRIST IS NOT MEANT TO BE COMFORTABLE.

          This life is going to be filled with all the distress and unrest that Jesus warns His disciples of. “I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” Even in the place where peace and comfort are meant to be most easily found – within the family – it will be elusive. Because to find that comfort will often mean loving the things and the people of this world more than we love God. Sin has invaded even the most basic of institutions put in place by God Himself. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Being a Christian is so often an uncomfortable prospect. And we’re asked to do uncomfortable things.

It’s uncomfortable on some Sunday mornings to get up and sit on a hard wooden bench and hear the preacher remind you where you’ve fallen short. I know I’m preaching to the choir as you’re all here this morning doing just those things. But there are days when even the most committed find it uncomfortable. Those days when the golf course or the lake is calling. It’s uncomfortable as a student to admit that you won’t be at the party, or the baseball game, because your faith has called you to be elsewhere, to be doing something more important. It’s uncomfortable to share your faith with your neighbor because you don’t know where they stand or what they’ll think of you. It’s uncomfortable to speak the truth as we know it from Scripture because the world will call you backwards and intolerant. These are all the crosses we’re called to bear as Christians. And Jesus says, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Many people have said, and I agree that it’s time we get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

God knows that the comfort we seek in this world – the peace we often strive for – is actually a false comfort. And God loves us too much to leave us with a false sense of comfort. We think that peace and comfort in this life is safe, but is that real peace? Is it real comfort? We’ve all been in that relationship that we know is broken and yet we just deal with it by not dealing with it. It’s miserable. We tiptoe around the issues and it’s clear that this is not how things are supposed to be. This is what Jesus is saying. Don’t pretend that the peace and comfort of this world is anything compared to that which comes from giving up the things of this world to enjoy the real peace and comfort that only comes from knowing and following Him. He wants us to know the true comfort that comes only through the saving knowledge of Christ and Him crucified. Which is why He says to us, “Whoever finds his life (that is the earthly life we all desire to cling to) will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

The life He desires for us to find is the one that’s firmly connected to His. The life of true discipleship. Of following the One who will lead us into the eternal peace and comfort He has gone to prepare for us in eternity. Ultimately, the things of this world – the comforts we seek to enjoy here – will all pass away. Moth and rust will destroy. And what will be left will be something even more amazing. A true comfort that can only be known by those who know the God of all comfort. Our God, who never promised a life of comfort here in this world. Who reminds us that as His children we are not meant to be comfortable. But are called to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Because only in taking up our crosses and following Him are we truly living as His disciples.

We’ll never do it perfectly. There will be days when the allure of this world’s comforts will draw us away. When the lake or the golf course will win out. When the pressures of those around us will cause us to stray. When the fear of being seen as backward and intolerant will cause us not to speak or act. And on those days, we remember that even as we fall short of who we have been called to be and what we’ve been called to do, Christ’s death and resurrection offers forgiveness and reconciliation with the One who did not hesitate to take up His cross. Who suffered on our behalf so that we wouldn’t have to. Who covers us with His blood and righteousness. For His sake, get comfortable being uncomfortable. For this is how we’ll lose the false peace and comfort of this earthly life and find true peace and comfort in our life in Christ. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.