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Comfortable is not OK



            When I moved to Estevan, I owned a “Pontiac Acadian”.   It was a small, four cylinder, five speed car that was fun to drive around town.   I liked it a lot.  That is until the day that I drove it from Moose Jaw to Winnipeg.  After eight hours, my back hurt and my neck was sore and I did not want to drive that car another mile.
            “Comfort” is something that most people look for in a car.  It is considered a good quality.  In fact, comfort is one of the most valued aspects of life these days.  You hear people saying things like, “We just need a big house so that we are comfortable”, or “I am trying to save enough to be comfortable in retirement”.   Comfort is one of our main goals.
            However, when it comes to your spiritual life, comfortable is not ok!
            If comfort is our goal, then we will never think, stretch, grow, be challenged or change.  Faith, by its very nature, requires us to be “uncomfortable” and to live life in ways that are opposite to our natural inclinations and instincts.  How many of us would “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39) if it had not been commanded by God?  How many of us would give generously and secretly if we were not challenged to do so by the word of God (Matthew 6:1-4).  If everything about our spiritual life is comfortable, we likely are not following very closely.
            Think of it this way:  In Matthew 14 we read about Peter walking on the water.  That took some faith and trust.  It is not something that would have come easily to Peter.  At the same time, the other disciples are still sitting in the boat.  Note that we refer to this incident as “Peter walking on the water” not “Eleven guys sitting in a boat”!   None will ever tell a story about those who were afraid to try. 
            Jesus underlines this point when he tells the story of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).  Three servants were given sums of money to use while their master was away.  Two of them did something with what they were given and were praised by their master when he returned (“Well done good and faithful servant!”).  The third was scared to fail and so he did not even try.  He decided that he was uncomfortable with taking a risk, so he did nothing!  In the end, that was not good enough.  “Do something!  Do anything!  But do not let fear cause you to do nothing!” was the message that he received.
            So, do the thing that you know you need to do and do not worry if it seems a little scary or uncomfortable.
            In spiritual things, uncomfortable is ok.  In fact, it probably means that you are growing!

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