There can be “seasons” to one’s faith.
For example, it is often noted how new Christians have zeal. They are “on fire for the Lord”! That’s amazing. Sometimes it lasts. Sometimes it doesn’t. There are seasons. And that’s okay. Life includes ups and downs. One of the risks with this particular season is that as soon as someone doesn’t “feel” their passion, they conclude that the Holy Spirit has left them. That’s just not true.
There are also seasons of great joy, and of great sorrow. There are seasons when we look to the sky and cry out, “God, where are you!?” And there are those seasons when we feel a deep and abiding peace. It’s hard to describe, but when it’s there, we know that it’s a foretaste of heaven on earth.
There are also seasons that we might call “drudgery.” Everything feels like duty, not delight. One of the reasons for feeling this way may be because we have forgotten the heart of the good news. Perhaps we have turned our faith into moralism and outward religious performance.
Michael Barrett has a word for seasons like this: “Only when Christians ignore the gospel, and the beauty of the Savior that lies at its heart, do they find Christianity to be drudgery.”*
The kingdom of God is where and when God reigns as King through Christ. It is where and when truth triumphs over deception; where love triumphs over hate; where freedom triumphs over bondage; where healing triumphs over fracture; and where peace triumphs over chaos.
At it’s centre is what Jesus accomplished on the cross. He died in our place, paying the price for our sins, so that we will have forgiveness and peace with God, adoption into his household, and eternal abundance.
Psalm 16:11 says: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Do you want to know the antidote to drudgery? It’s the gospel, not moralism. It’s gratitude, not entitlement. It’s grace, not just working harder. It’s glorifying God, not ourselves.
“Only when Christians ignore the gospel, and the beauty of the Savior that lies at its heart, do they find Christianity to be drudgery.”
Notes:
-*Michael Barrett, How Can We Live Our Faith from the Inside Out (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2018), 8, digital version.
-Bible quotes, ESV.
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