Nobody Said it was Easy

These lyrics from Coldplay's "The Scientist" keep ringing in my head as I pray these last couple days (which is quite ironic in and of itself, I do realize. See, Science and Faith DO go together :)

But the chorus goes:

"Nobody said it was easy
Nobody said it was gonna be this hard
Oh let's go back to the start"

There are days when trying to live the Gospel surely makes us want to sing these words, and lately I've been singing 'em!

It's hard to live what one believes when a culture is telling us to do what is easy, what is convenient, what will get us ahead. And this isn't what the Gospel tells us.

Jesus pretty much tells us what Chris Martin says in these lyrics. He tells us this life isn't going to be easy, living the way He proclaims isn't always convenient, and it may seem crazy to the rest of the world. He certainly seemed crazy to a lot of people. His followers who jumped on the train thinking He was cool at first, eventually started to turn away when the Truth began to get to be to much:

"Then many of his disciples who were listening said, 'This is hard; who can accept it?...many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him."

How sad this must've been for Jesus. To be trying to share Good News with people, tell them about how He wants to give them His Life, and they walk away because it is hard.

This passage is actually taken from the Bread of Life Discourse in John 6 which I LOVE just because it is so radical, but is the central core of our faith. Jesus tells the disciples in this passage that He is giving them Eternal LIFE if they believe in the Eucharist- that He will die for us, but remain with us on earth through BREAD. This is what we are saying we believe every day at Mass!

But I know myself I question all the time. And I want to give up because some of the things God asks us seem just too crazy these days. Especially when it seems no one else around us believes these things anymore.

"Nobody said it was easy"

I am blessed, however, to have many people around me who are willing to fight the good fight and are witnesses to me. This week when I was feeling discouraged, I had at least half the people in my phone to call and have them tell me they also knew how hard it was to live the words of Jesus, which is ultimately counter-cultural and not what the world says.

So this blog is a tribute to them and though I have been discouraged and frustrated, wanting to give up the fight, the witnesses of the friends God has placed in my life (many of you reading this blog) keep me going. I hope this blog will return the favor should you ever feel discouraged in your journey with God and what He asks you to do.

For even Jesus surrounded Himself with people He knew would not ultimately leave Him, but would lift Him up. After the discouraged disciples walk away from His Gospel message the Apostles remain:

"Jesus then said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to leave?' Simon Peter answered Him, 'Master, to whom should we go? You have the words of Eternal Life.'" John 6-67-68

We are working towards Eternal Life, friends, not the life that our culture tells us to live. And I am glad I have you to 'run the race' with me! The verse that spawned this blog- Hebrews 12:1-2- can be our guide!

Thanks for reading and for running.
Peace,
Julia