“Only a disciple of Jesus rejects what would bring happiness or recognition in order to embrace what is difficult. The life of a believer is never easy, and those who seek comfort and recognition are destined for error. They can easily be led away into rebellion, especially if it is tagged with 'This saith the Lord.'”— Thus Saith the Lord?, page 104
<idle musing>
As Bonhoeffer put it so well in Discipleship: "When Jesus calls a man, he bids him come and die." If that's not what you are willing to do, then maybe "believer" isn't the right word...
I'm preaching to myself here, by the way. If we aren't willing to die to our own desires and wishes, then we can't follow Jesus—those are his words, not mine! And the fruit of following our own desires and wishes—or grudgingly following him—is not pleasant at all. It may seem pleasant and soft for a season, but the frost will come, as will the snow and ice. In some cases (most?), that season is pretty short—about an hour, in my experience. As the KJV puts it, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2 Cor 4:17) But we easily get distracted by the fluff and nonsense around us unless we live dead to self and alive in Christ Jesus.
Praise God for the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit!
</idle musing>
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