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This past week we talked about whether comfort in the Christian life is a sin.

How comfortable have we become with being comfortable? As Christians we are called to step out and be uncomfortable in our faith, to trust in God and do things that will push us closer to Christ. Some of us have closed the door to growth in our faith solely because we love our comfort too much and don't want to step out. Where can you start to be uncomfortable or even remove the comfort that is an idol from your life?

Soooo hold on a sec, is comfort or being comforted a bad thing for a Christian? Well lets break this down section by section. Right off the bat lets address that comfort from the Lord is of course NOT a sin. God is our comforter, he wants us to rest in his shadow and have peace from his Spirit (Psalm 91, Psalm 23). What we want to talk about today is what happens when we seek comfort in places other than God...

In the podcast we recorded on this topic, Christian gave us a really helpful picture/analogy of the whole point of this message. Christian related the average Christians life as sitting on the couch vs going to the gym. We can still do a lot of good things sitting on the couch. We can watch YouTube videos about working out. We can fantasize about how good of shape we will be in next year when we have more time for the gym. We can even throw on our gym clothes and take pictures to post to make it look like to others we have been working out. So why don't we walk out that door and drive to the gym ever? Why don't we put into action the plans we make and are motivated to help us grow and improve?

The simple answer is this: The couch is comfortable.

Sometimes we are so comfortable in our faith that we refuse to get off that couch and do what God has called us to. Maybe we even make excuses to justify our lukewarm faith. We say things like:

- "I don't feel peace about sharing the Gospel with this person yet"

- "I don't feel equipped to do this yet"

- "God chooses specific people to do those things, not me though"

or the biggest excuse we use, that even sounds helpful "I am content where God has me right now". I wont disagree that we DO need to seek contentment in all places God leads us. BUT, the problem comes when we use the word contentment as an excuse to not be uncomfortable in our faith. To not get off the couch.

You might ask me, "So what are we supposed to do then? Sell all our things and move to a third world country or something?" My response would be simply this, maybe.

Lets look at a clear example of this topic we see in scripture:

The Rich Young Ruler

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

This conversation between Jesus and the rich young ruler can teach us so much. But for this topic it should show us something so important.

Jesus would much rather have our whole heart than have half of it plus a legalistic obedience to the commandments.

Am I saying not to follow the commands of Christ? OF COURSE NOT. But what I am saying is we can get so caught up with doing those commands on our couch, that we never step outside and share with others who it is that gives us those commands in the first place.

The rich young ruler was apparently already keeping all the commands. Yet Jesus knew his heart was somewhere other than with God. So why was the ruler so disheartened as he left Jesus? Because he found comfort in all of the things we owned.

If we find comfort in ANYTHING other than Christ, we will never truly be comforted.

Placing our hopes in things of the world, whether they be money, other people, a house, a stable job, or even your social media reputation, these will ALWAYS hold us back from the true calling God places on our lives.

So then, Is comfort a sin? Well, no actually. But the love of comfort from things other than God is. So what do we do? Well, for starters get off the couch and get in the gym. Here are a couple very simple ways to start being uncomfortable in our faith:

-read the Bible in the morning even when you don't want to

-Pray in front of others (not for pride of course)

-Talk to somebody at lunch who might be alone

-Invite new friends to hangout in your friend group

-Actually be vulnerable wit those close to you about your faith

Now here's another list of things that might be more uncomfortable that God might be calling you to:

-Go on a mission trip to a place you are unfamiliar with to spread the Gospel

-Share your testimony in front of family/friends who don't know Christ

-Sell your things and move to a third world country ;)

-Share the Gospel with your roommate/classmate who doesn't know Jesus

Like I said before, God might not call you to all of these things, or many he will. But its time to get off the couch and go to the gym. get uncomfortable and let God be your comforter. Even through the valley of the shadow of death God will be there with you. So don't think your calling always excludes that valley.

The new heavens and new earth are what we patiently await while we do the work of Christ in this broken world. We must crucify ourselves to this world as Paul says so we can remember our eternal home is returning with the second coming of Christ. If we hold tightly to the things of this world, we will not be able to do the works Christ has for us for his glory. May our prayers be for God to remind us of our true home in the new heavens and new earth. May we every day be strengthened by the Holy Spirit as we fight off the temptations of the flesh and seek to become more like Christ.

As always, from all of us at AskUsWhy we pray you continue to learn and grow in the faith. We want to be a resource for all believers to be equipped in any stage of life, and to be able to bring the kingdom of God wherever they go.

Peace and blessings!

If you liked this blog and want to listen to the podcast on this topic check the link below!

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