It's Not Easy

"As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'" - Mark 10:17

I often get caught up in the day-to-day rush of life. The wake up-work-home-kid stuff-home-bedtime-relax-bed routine that seems to dominate our little family of five. And so it's easy to focus on "doing enough" to feel like I'm giving God some time in that routine. That saying prayers at meals and at bed time is enough, and that the rest of my life can go on when those activities are over. 

Unfortunately for the man talking to Jesus (and for us), it's not that easy. It isn't an equation that we can simply solve for - that our life + some fraction of God will be enough. Rather, we need to weave God into our lives at all times - from the moment we wake up to the moment we close our eyes. And it's hard - it takes work, constant reminders, and (to borrow a phrase) constant vigilance to always put God first. It's a challenge that we will certainly fail at some days, but one that we must continue to strive for, for the reward is far greater than the effort.

And we just might find that, by doing so, we won't be as focused on the reward - but rather, we'll be able to see and absorb life with a vividness we have yet to experience. That, by putting God first, we can see and experience His glory in all aspects of life,  in areas that had once seemed mundane, boring or routine. It allows us to receive the reward now and later - something Jesus knew quite well and wanted us to experience for ourselves.

As for the man in the story - we'll find out soon enough what he had to do to change his life. And for him, it might have been too hard. Hopefully, we can learn a lesson from his mistakes.

Additional Note: I apologize for the unexpected week off in posting to my blog. I was a bit under the weather all last week, catching a pretty nasty cold that had me pretty worn down by the end of the day. Thankfully, after almost two weeks with it, I'm feeling better!