Comfort Is Not the Goal

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Luke 9:58 (NRSVUE)

At some point in your life I’m sure that you’ve been told to “get out of your comfort zone!” I have always found this platitude ironic, because it seems that our entire society is built on comfort, or at the very least avoiding that which makes life challenging. One humorous example comes to mind from my days as a high school teacher.

I was chaperoning a senior trip to Florida (and have never needed more prayers in my life) when we lost cell phone signal and thus lost access to our GPS maps. My students were immediately thrown into a panic; how will we ever find our way now?! It was a perfect teaching moment, and I was able to show my young wards how to read highway signs (yes, really) until our precious GPS returned to us. Get out of your comfort zone, as long as it isn’t too hard or uncomfortable, right?

I don’t tell that story to make fun of my former students, but rather to highlight a fundamental truth about our modern lives. The focus on ease and comfort is simply too great. Where comfort is primary, growth is neglected. God does not call us to be stagnant, unchallenged, or comfortable. Jesus even goes so far as to highlight the level of physical sacrifice that may be required of one seeking the Kingdom as you can read above in the Gospel of Luke. God calls us to grow in Him, casting aside the pursuits of worldly creature comforts, becoming the fullest version of ourselves through the Spirit’s indwelling power.

We are called to carry our cross. We are called to love our enemies. We are called to be transformed, changed, and renewed. This isn’t an easy process. It can hurt like a teenager going through growing pains to let go of our persistent sin, or to step beyond our fears to live how God calls us to live.

Speaking about how we can often ask God to fix our nagging issues rather than totally transform us to be “perfect, as your Father, Who is in Heaven, is perfect,” C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity says, “Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment.”

God is not content to simply pat us on the head and send us on our way. He wants our entire selves, our entire lives. He wants us to be radically transformed as whole image-bearers for the Kingdom of God. He wants us to embrace the uncomfortable and inconvenient.

God does not call us to a life of comfort. He calls us to a life of self-sacrifice, of loving others more than ourselves, and of becoming wholly dependent on Him. God doesn’t call us to an easy life.

He calls us to something so much more. 

Looking to have quality spiritual content delivered to your inbox? We can help with that.