Comfortable or Good?

January 8, 2019

Good Morning Fellow Travelers,

Read: II Timothy 2:1-15


“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” II Timothy 2:3


There has been much said about the question, “Why did God not make all men good?” If He created a beautiful and comfortable world like we have, why didn’t He go on and finish it by making all in it good as well as comfortable? The truth is that making a man comfortable does not make him good. The opposite is true. God knows that with the sinful nature of man, given to choose the flesh over the more noble spirit, we will persistently follow selfish inclinations and destroy ourselves.

God does not want robots; He wants good men. We cannot be good without consenting to be made good. The will of man must be brought under the dominion of Christ. As Christ suffered to show us the way to righteousness, so we too must suffer to be made righteous. We die with Him that we may live with Him. We suffer with Him that we might reign with Him. We endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ. Our battles are spiritual.

Haven’t we learned yet that being comfortable does not win the battle? The battle is won by hardness and endurance. We may suffer as Paul, condemned as an evil doer, that others may obtain salvation also. In the battle we are in it is far better to be good than to be comfortable. Your choice to let Christ have His way with you is the best choice. In the end, being comfortable will stand against us in the judgement. It is best for us to let go of the desire for comfort, and let Christ help us be truly good.

– James Baer