One of the meanings of this Biblical passage is the awareness that struggle and suffering are part of discipleship. Being a Christian involves struggle. Unfortunately, many people want to eliminate the struggle from life and also eliminate the struggle from following Christ. Such people end up being weak, weak Christians.

There was this amateur naturalist who saw a cocoon. This amateur naturalist saw a butterfly struggling to get out of that cocoon. The butterfly was struggling to get out of the cocoon and was just about ready to break out of that cocoon. The amateur naturalist was closely watching as this miracle unfolded. Then, the amateur naturalist did a very dumb thing. He took out his pocket knife and he slit the cocoon so that the butterfly did not have to struggle. The butterfly came out and flew around but it was a very weak butterfly because the butterfly never had to struggle in its own birth.

Many parents make the same mistake in parenting, where the parents cut the cocoon and make it easier for the children to grow up, protecting their children from difficult struggles, and thereby the children never develop the inner strength that is learned through struggle.

So it is with Christianity. Christianity always involves struggle, whereby a person becomes a strong disciple. It is only through struggles that a person becomes strong spiritually or strong emotionally.

 

I like a quotation about the north wind. The saying is, “It is the north wind that made the Vikings strong. Without the north wind, the Vikings would not survive so long. ” If the Vikings had lived in a place that was warm, warmer and warmest, the Vikings would have never developed the strength that was deeply part of their lives in the cold north with its cold wind.

Author Toynbee, the famous historian, said, “It is the difficulties that lead to a flowering of a civilization. Any civilization which does not have difficulties or obstacles will not be a great civilization.”

Similarly, any Christian who does not have difficulties and obstacles that get in the way, that cause one to stumble, fall and get up again, cause one to stumble,  fall and get up again and cause one to stumble, fall and get up again; any Christian that does not have obstacles in your way and difficulties in your life will never grow to be a strong and loyal Christian who is committed to the mission of Jesus Christ in the world. If you as a Christian want a sweet life with no problems, chances are that you will end up being a weak, weak Christian.

To see the rest of Edward Markquart’s sermon