A Lovely Shade Of Blue: It's Hard Because It's Worth It
"The life of a Christian is a constant struggle to do what is right,'' says Claire George in these words of encouragement.
The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, seems like a long time ago. It was in fact on 9th March. If you have managed to keep the promise you made to God on Ash Wednesday, well done! If, on the other hand you didn't make a promise or gave up weeks ago, never mind. Just keep trying, whether or not it is Lent.
The life of a Christian is a constant struggle to do what is right. Jesus tells us how we should live and it's not easy. When we fail as Christians we have two options. We can dismiss ourselves as terrible people. Or we can say "yes, Christianity is hard, and because it is hard it will make a significant difference to my life and to others, my failure reminds me of that, I will keep on trying."
To be a Christian is to fail almost constantly. Jesus calls us to do what is very hard - live together without prejudice, without casting judgements against each other and without putting our own interests before other people's. That is what Christ calls us to do, and it is very very hard.
As a religion Christianity is tough but it is also gentle. It's tough to do what Jesus asks, but the result is a much gentler and kinder society.
