The Jesus Cruise
I really thought the New Testament was going to be pretty easy because it is all about peace, love, salvation and all that jazz. I am beginning to wonder if my imagination painted Jesus as some kind of a pot-smoking hippie from the 60’s & 70’s. When I first became a Christian, I thought I had just joined the “Jesus Cruise” and everything would be great. All I had to do was smile and follow Jesus. After all, I accepted Jesus. What could go wrong?
Verse 24 & 25 are pretty clear that I was delusional and had very unrealistic expectations. Jesus tells us “…anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall…” Jesus never, ever promised that life would be easy. Notice He says when the rains come. Life is filled with storms, pain and heartache. That is reality. There is no way to avoid it.
At some point in everyone’s life we come to the place where we are faced with a choice. We must ask ourselves, “Do I want to face the storms in life on my own, or do I want to face them with Jesus by my side?” I know my answer, I chose Jesus. How about you?