The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.

G. K. Chesterson

We looked at a familiar passage, yesterday, about the easy and hard paths from which we are to choose in life. In that example from Matthew 7, Jesus pointed out that most would choose the easy way. I think we can all see why, because that is the path we would most likely choose, given the choice between hard and easy, but the easy path can be quite deceptive. Experience shows that most of the times we have gone for the shortcut, we ended up off track and very often, lost.

There is a splendid book that was written a few years back entitled, " Do Hard Things". It was a book by two exceptional brothers by the name of Alex and Brett Harris. It became a smashing best seller, and has promoted all sorts of programs and efforts to intentionally avoid doing things the easy way and instead seek the path that from the outside looks to have the most resistance. The remarkable thing is that these young men began this quest when they were but boys, and wrote this best seller when they were only teens. In fact, their book is subtitled, "A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations", and is specifically aimed at encouraging people to challenge themselves while they are still young.

These two young men must have had remarkable parents to get to this point, but the drive and determination of these twin brothers has far exceeded that exceptional environment in which they were raised. Whether you have teens or not, I believe you will find this book to be a motivation to go beyond the childish expectations that so many of us hold, both parent and teens alike.

This idea of doing hard things is nothing new, however. It is as old as this world, for God has always demanded maximum effort from His servants. But, men being men, we have so often bristled at the idea of expending more effort than the bare minimum. It is that attitude which has led to society being weakened, and great nations to rot from the inside out. We could use a resurgence of the attitude towards maximum effort in a drive towards excellence, rather than the settling for mediocrity that has plagued so many in our modern times.

And, when it comes to following Jesus, the easy way has never been an option. Consider the following incident from the ministry of Christ:

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." To another He said, "Follow Me" but he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to those at my home."

Jesus said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:57-62, ESV

When we first look at this passage, we might think that Jesus is being unusually harsh, but that is not the case. The requests to bury one's father and say goodbye to family before heading out are not unreasonable, so there must have been something else that Jesus saw. Perhaps He saw in them the natural human reluctance to really commit to a worthy, but difficult cause. Whatever the situation was, Jesus made it crystal clear that following Him would not be easy. He was not attempting to discourage anyone from the noble task of following Him, but He does appear to make us count the costs prior to our commitment to serve.

How about you? Have you counted the costs and found them a bit too high? Are you like me in that you would like to do great and noble things, but they do appear to be a lot of trouble? If so, consider this: The invitation to become a child of God and to serve the Son is the greatest honor that could be given to any man. If we are going to have the nerve to actually accept this great honor that has been extended to us, then we are going to have to put our laziness and selfish preferences towards ease aside, and thrown ourselves into the hardest and most satisfying work that has ever been afforded to mankind.

Are you ready to do hard things for God? Then, let's get to work and be determined to never look back!

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