As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothingare in kings’ houses.”

  - Matthew 11.7, 8

...we Christians are conquered in this spiritual warfare, first by our carnal vices and proud way of life, and then by the weakness of our wavering faith, whose feebleness is the reason for our being surrounded unawares by our enemies in triple ranks, who have been given to punish our luxurious ease.

  - Columbanus, Letter to Pope Boniface, Irish, 7th century[1]

There was nothing soft about John the Baptist, or about Jesus, for that matter. In Jesus’ commendation of John, He put His followers on notice: no one associated with Jesus should look for an easy road.

Following Christ is not about a comfortable life here and now. He will provide our needs, of course, as we seek the Father day by day. But being a Christian holds no promise for a life of ease, where we are never inconvenienced and always have things just the way we want. The Gospel is not about feeling good because the circumstances of our lives are just what we’d like them to be. Or very nearly so.

Following Jesus means bearing a cross, not wearing the latest in soft clothing.

Life as one of Jesus’ twelve disciples must have been fairly trying. Always on the move, living off the generosity of friends, facing threats and harassment, sleeping out of doors, trying to serve all kinds of people, putting up with ingratitude, opposition, and indifference. And always learning, being corrected, taking on new tasks, and trying to keep up with Jesus’ teaching and lifestyle.

The life of faith is not about ease and plenty, comfort and fun, but taking up your cross daily, dying to yourself, and being hated by the world because you love the way of holiness and love.

Which is what Columbanus was writing to the Pope about. He had encountered some of the Pope’s bishops and priests during his ministry in Gaul, and, well, they weren’t the sort of folk he was familiar with in his service to the Lord. The ease and luxury of the churches in 7^th-century Gaul testified not to their strength but to their weakness. The clergy of Gaul enjoyed the favor of the royal court, since they catered to their every whim and made no spiritual or moral demands on the rulers. The bishops of Gaul and the priests who served with them were losing the spiritual warfare because they were too comfortable, too set in their ways, and unwilling to take up the life of sacrifice and suffering in anything other than theory. They liked the status quo, and if no one was coming to faith in Christ, well, that must have been the fault of a hard-hearted age.

When Columbanus and his companions arrived, preaching the Gospel, calling people to repentance and faith, making a living by the labor of their hands, and seeing many come to faith in Christ, these bishops chafed at the austere life and uncompromising message of the Irish missionaries, and they responded by trying to silence them.

Comfortable Christians do not like to have their comfort disturbed.

Columbanus’ complaint to the Pope could just as well have been written to believers today. Have we become so determined to have a soft life following Jesus that we are unwilling to give up any comfort or take on any inconvenience for the glory of God? Jesus has sent us to the world – our Personal Mission Fields – after the same manner and for the same purpose He was sent (Jn. 20.21). Like John the Baptist, He did not concern Himself with comfort and convenience, but with serving, proclaiming the Kingdom, seeking the lost, praying without ceasing, and standing up to adversity and opposition with grace and truth. This is how Jesus came to the world, not to be a seeker of ease, fun, and no-demand religion.

And what did we expect when we believed in this Lord?

Because if it’s soft clothing we’re seeking, we’re following the wrong God.

Psalm 4.6-8 (Picardy: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent)
Wicked men may scorn and try us, casting doubt upon Your grace;
Send Your Spirit, Lord, don’t deny us till we see Your glorious face.
You Who sent Your Son to buy us, fill our hearts with joy and grace.

Safely in Your peace, let us lie, Lord; keep us in Your love and care.
Rooted in Your strong and wise Word, may we know Your comfort there.
Guard and keep us till we die, Lord; go before us everywhere.

Lord, let me fear neither want, nor opposition, nor hardship, but keeping in mind the promise of heaven, let me serve You daily in all my ways. Adapted from Patrick, Confession

Will you seek the Lord?
God supplies the needs of The Fellowship of Ailbe, as we look to Him day by day. It has pleased Him to enlist many of those who are served by our ministry to share in the financial support of this work. He may be pleased to do so, at least in part, through you. I ask you to seek Him in prayer concerning this matter. You can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction VT 05452.    

T. M. Moore
Principal
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All psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.