“They went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul.'” – Acts 23:14
Anybody who says being a Christian is a ticket to an easy life free of problems is a liar! Such a person is either intentionally deceitful or utterly ignorant of both theology and history. Don’t believe false prosperity gospels!
Christ calls His followers (all of them) to unpopular obedience to Him. We are His ambassadors. Since His own people killed Him, as His ambassadors we should expect some opposition. This isn’t said to be discouraging but to prepare each follower of Christ for the challenges of our lifelong journey of faith.
The grace we enjoy, the union with Christ we celebrate, and the eternal life we look forward to comes with a responsibility. Fulfilling our disciple-making, gospel-proclaiming responsibility is always filled with joy, but it can also be hard, difficult, exhausting, painful, and dangerous work. Rather than avoid or lament this reality, we must learn to look forward to it!
It’s in these storms that we most richly come to know and rely on Christ’s sustaining grace, being strengthened by the presence of our suffering Savior Who is with us every step of the way!