We like to talk about the "new life" we have in Jesus, the "new life" that is called the God-life, the Jesus-life, the Spirit-driven life, or (as the early Christians called it) "the Way." When we look into the scriptures, seeing the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the Apostles, when we see the way Jesus lived in His culture and in the swarms of people, we see that "the Way" is not characterized by judgment, condemnation, self-worship, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and spiritual superiority; rather, "the Way" is a way of life founded upon Christ, a way of life that radiates selflessness, sacrifice, service to others in love, humility, kindness, compassion, care, grace, mercy, forgiveness, acceptance, friendship, justice and love. And sometimes we begin to think that this way of life is easy; we think of that statement of Jesus in Matthew 11, where he says, "If you are weary and burdened, burned out on life, come to me, and I will give you rest; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." So Jesus himself said his "way" was easy (he called it his "yoke"), but when we try to live out this life, it seems that we are doomed to failure. What in the world was Jesus saying? It is not easy at all! The word in that verse translated "easy" can also be translated "good"; so, when we take the verse in the latter translation, we see that Jesus' way is good. There's nothing about it that is easy; in fact, throughout the rest of the gospels Jesus says, "My way is good, but it is difficult." Yes, the way of Jesus--a new way of life in a fallen world--is good, is beautiful, but it is not easy. The easy life is a life of indulgence, materialism, self-worship, selfishness, greed, and indifference; that is the easy way, and Jesus himself said that most people will live that way, but he said that his people are to live differently.

The way of Jesus is hard, but over and over and over, Jesus says that his people are to be characterized by the way; Christians are to be known not only for what they believe but also for the kind of people they are! In the early Church, what drew thousands to embrace Christ? Was it fancy preaching? No! They saw the Christians living "the Way," and they were drawn to its goodness and beauty. No one is attracted to Jesus' way because it is easier; we come and embrace Christ and his way because we see that Jesus, like the way, is so beautiful and good.

May we understand that Jesus does not just call us to a life of belief, but that he also calls us to embrace a new way of life, a life of love that is rooted in action. May we embrace Christ and embrace his way (you do not get one without the other), and may we be living examples of a new way of life in a world overcome with selfishness, greed, and indifference. May we not be deceived into thinking it is easy, but may we be inspired, seeing its beauty and goodness.