It is not uncommon to hear sermons or personal testimonies revolving around the arduous journey towards perfection that is the Christian life. The talks usually center on what we can’t or shouldn’t or wouldn’t do were we truly holy.

Such a life is not only linked to what the Bible forbids, but also to what men forbid on principle. Principles they claim are linked inextricably to principles in the Bible.

The result is a life so defined in its restrictions and virtues that it is attractive in its clarity, but burdensome in its application.

It seems everyone defines the Christian life on their own terms. Some define their own righteousness by what they do not do. Others define their own freedom by what they do do. On both sides of this line are people who are reasonably confident that they have chosen best. Both have the scripture to back their decisions.

To properly answer this question, it is neccessary to satisfy scripture as a whole, and as it is exemplified in the lives of those who have gone before us. It is is also important to answer the essential question: What does God truely expect from us at the end of the day?

Does he desire sinless perfection? From scripture we can safely answer this question “Yes”. God does desire that we live sinless lives. But what does God expect from us?

We cannot deny God’s desire for our holiness. The scripture commands it: “Be ye holy as I am holy.” As important as this goal is, it is also important to understand the inherent impossibility of this task. While it should be the goal of every Christian to be holy, it is also utterly and completely impossible to achieve in this lifetime.

So should we give up? Absolutely not. That would be a disastrous conclusion. But the question is worth asking: If we are unable to achieve holiness in this lifetime, should we exhaust ourselves in its pursuit? And equally important, what are we to achieve in this lifetime?

At the risk of using a sleight of hand, or finding nuance where none exists, I believe some have summarized Christianity in such a way that it can only be viewed as daunting or impossible and more importantly, incorrect.  It would be easy to over analyze this question to a point where reaching a logical and sound conclusion would be nigh impossible. I’m going to attempt to keep this simple. “Simple is safe,” as Nicholas Cage says in Matchstick Men.

Jesus said “Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He also said “My yoke is easy, my burden is light.” But Jesus also said to “take up your cross”. He said that just as the world hated Him, the world would hate us.  He also told use we would suffer for His name. (Matthew 10) 

So how do we reconcile the rest that Jesus offers with the life of sacrifice He also promises?

These seemingly inconsistent views actually function in harmony if viewed properly. Our first instinct is to say that “taking up your cross” is directly opposed to “I will give you rest”. But we are looking at this from a self-centered point of view. We are looking at this from the perspective of what is most convenient for us.  I believe both of Jesus’ statements are true in their own context.

In Matthew 11, Jesus was speaking to Israelites who had grown up in a system of belief dominated by the Pharisees. (The word Pharisee literally means “one who is separated for a life of purity”.) The Pharisees were the original legalists. They obsessed with specificity and invented approximately 700 ways to avoid sinning. These 700 ways were soon elevated to the level of the law itself in the eyes of the people.

I believe this safety net was exactly what Jesus was referring to and contrasting himself with when he spoke of his yoke being easy and his burden being light. Rules without conviction or reason is the heart of “religion” and inherently burdensome.

Jesus did not come to start another religion. Jesus came to show us how we should live, how we should treat others, and show us God’s grace and love first hand. He came to show us reality, pure and simple. We can trust His example.

So what should we do with His other promises?

While it could be said that Jesus’ audience was all believers when he said “All men will hate you because of Me”, his primary audience was His disciples, the forerunners of the faith. He also gave them the authority to cast out demons and heal sickness. We can safely assume that all of the promises in this chapter are not specifically for our consumption. They do apply to us in a general sort of way, but not all of us are called to suffer in the same way the twelve apostles were.

Some are, to be sure. And we should all be willing. Many do outside of the comfort that is America. But Jesus was literally peering into the futures of the msot significant believers that would ever profess the name of Jesus. That is the appropriate context for this passage.

I have seen this passage used for a much different purpose. To some, being hated by all men and taking up your cross are metaphors for whatw e can deny ourselves. Abstaining from alcohol or avoiding movie theatres are said to be equivalent to “taking up your cross”. I believe this is a faulty and dangerous interpretation. (”Text without context is pretext.”)

Jesus was about reality. He was about right and wrong. He was about justice, mercy, and love. He was about rules that were not only God-breathed, but useful. He constantly corrected the Pharisees faulty understanding of the law. Insisting that the law was ultimately for our benefit.

In a society where one had to count the number of steps one made on the sabbath, his message must have been refreshing and full of promise. Promsise of rest from a tyrannical standard of righteousness.

Fitting these understandings of Jesus’ teachings into our framework, we can safely answer the question proposed at the beginning of this essay: What does God expect from us?

The answer is two fold:

1. God expects us to pursue holiness. “Be ye holy as I am holy.” Each of us should spend our lives in the pursuit of holiness. We should scrupulously avoid sin and constantly set our eyes on Jesus as our ultimate example.
2. God expects us to get our hands dirty. We are to be in the world and not of this world. We are to actively live out our faith. As James said, “I’ll show you my faith by my good works.” We are to evanglize and preach the truth in love. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves and love the Lord our God with all of heart, soul, and mind. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

That is what God expects of us. But, there are two sides to this coin. It is not sufficient to say that God only wants us to be sinless. It is also not sufficient to say that God only wants us to spread the gospel. But any lifestyle that focuses on one to the obseletion of the other is flawed.

If we as Christians are so inwardly focused on what we can do right or what we can deny ourselves. If we busy ourselves with discussions about “mixed swimming”, culottes, and whether or not having a beer on a Saturday night is evil or not, we will become irrelevant and reaching a world that is literally in agony, desperately in need of the gospel will be impossible with all of these internal distractions.

Which is what I think makes the subject of Christian freedom so essential. Paul says “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31) We are to live by our conscience and to always show each other love and respect, even when we do not have identical convictions.

Christianity is not about what we can give up. It’s about enjoying our salvation, living by His example, and furthering the good news of His salvation.

If you find yourself struggling. If it seems impossibly hard, that is because it is impossibly hard. But you are also looking at it the wrong way.

“My yoke is easy, my burden is light.”
“Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”