Comfort and Pleasure

Did Jesus come to make you comfortable or did you call you to enjoy His presence and to endure hardship for His Kingdom and to find our comfort and pleasure primarily in Him? Is our comfort the highest good, after all mankind has a strong survival instinct to preserve his life and to live a life of comfort. Who wouldn’t prefer comfort over hardship? However, Jesus put the will and glory of God before His own comfort. In spite of hardship there is contentment in God’s presence no matter the circumstances. This is true for those who have been greatly transformed in His presence. He comforts us in our hardships. As the word of God says, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy (Philippians 2:1). Or again as the scripture states, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

The Bible says of Jesus, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Jesus said of John the Baptist, “What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses” (Matthew 11:8). As the scripture state, “Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). I don’t think that comfort was Jesus or John’s primary goal. They were in service and friendship with God and were dedicated to God’s kingdom and they were willing to endure hardship because they loved God and his kingdom. However, Jesus was God incarnate in the flesh. Is this how God should be treated? Then consider how Jesus was treated as He went to the cross and hung on that cross. In love Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2) It is the mature and wise that do not just settle for immediate gratification with its consequences, but take the long look. What have we endured for God and His kingdom? What joy is set before us?

At the beginning of Jesus public ministry Satan tempted Jesus to use His power to address his desire for comfort. Jesus was in the desert 40 days without any food. He would be extremely hungry after 40 days and Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread to eat. (Matthew 4:3-4) This would seem like a reasonable thing to do, but Jesus knew this was not the Father’s will, at this time. This is something that was setting the course of His life and ministry. He was not to use His power to just satisfy his own comfort, but only to do the will of the Father and to glorify Him. He would not bow down to Satan and Satan’s direction but only to the Father’s will, and timing.

This doesn’t mean we are to be slackers and not provide for our family or that we at times don’t enjoy comfort and pleasure, but that it is not our primary goal and focus. However, If God has given you a talent for business and to make money that money it is not primarily for your comfort and pleasure but to advance the kingdom of God and to glorify Him. Even Christians are tempted to worship at the altar of comfort and pleasure, above loving God and doing His will. Is Jesus truly your friend or not?

Is it uncomfortable for you to take the initiative to share the gospel with friends, relatives and strangers? How about when they reject the message and perhaps the messenger. Do you refrain from sharing the gospel because you sense their initial discomfort until you can get through to speak to their heart? There is hardship in doing the will of God at times. Who told you, you are to do just what your human feelings tell you to do? It wasn’t Jesus.

“When the going gets tough the tough get going.” It is the greatest challenge to truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ and with it the greatest blessings in this life and the next which is primarily in God Himself. He is our best friend and company. At least for those who have been born again of His Spirit. Are we primarily advancing God’s kingdom, ours or Satan’s?

Paul writing from prison because of his testimony of Jesus and the gospel says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). There is no higher calling than to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What hardship will you endure for the gospel? What sacrifice will you make to extend the Kingdom of God? He is calling you! Can you hear His voice by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit? Pick up the mantle and follow Him. Be Christ’s apprentice and walk in union with Him and in Him