He Gave Up Comfort

Life is messy. And often hard. Not every word is kind. Not every challenge works out the way we hope. But from those messy moments can come the best things.

Jesus’ life was messy, too. He lived at a time and place when families rarely had enough to eat. The political climate was stormy. The racial tension was hot. And religious conflicts were at an all-time high. But Jesus believed something beautiful about life that few people understood, and his mission was to live it out.

So what were his options? How did Jesus choose to live in this chaotic, turbulent time?

He could have taken the easy way out.

Instead of advocating for people everyone else marginalized, he could have sat it out in his small hometown, a little north of nowhere.

Instead of teaching the counter-intuitive message of mercy and forgiveness, he could have repeated the same-old-same-old teaching that generations had fought hard for but found too hard to believe and not worth it.

Instead of building loyal followers, he could have played to the popularity of a crowd. He could have compromised for the sake of the peace.

But he didn’t. He gave up the easy way for something more beautiful.

He gave up the comforts of home.The most eligible bachelor in Nazareth could have married a nice girl, had a family of his own, and let the world go by. Instead, he stayed on mission. He never owned a home. He traded it all for life on the road. Most nights he slept under the stars. He was constantly walking to a new place with his new message, mostly on a desert road—in a day before sunglasses, sunscreen, bottled water, aspirin, chapstick, iPhones, or Nikes.

He gave up the security of a steady job. He started his career as a carpenter, just like his father. In his day and his community, there was enough work to keep him busy for the rest of his life. But his priority was to follow a different calling.

He gave up providing for himself. He could have, but he didn’t. He gave up the independence and self-esteem of making his own way in the world and traded it for a company of people who would invest in his message as they cared for his needs. He likely allowed himself to be cared for by others more for what it did for them than what it did for him.

While others stayed in their comfort zone, saying, Well, I'm just not comfortable living like that . . ., Jesus led the way and stepped out of the circle. He gave up being as comfortable as he could have been because he refused to be comfortable with a world without mercy, the culture of injustice, and a future without hope. He said and did the hard things because he needed to tell and show everyone within the sound of his voice and the reach of his message that they were loved, that their lives had meaning, and there was another way to live.

His message was that important. Messy, for sure. But so worth it that he gave up everything else.

Consider this: Where do you prioritize your comfort? What unique perspective did Jesus gain by being reliant on others?