The Difficulty of Christianity
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” These are the words of Marie Curie, famous physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics. Nehemiah and the Israelites might have agreed with her.
During Nehemiah’s time, God’s chosen people had been in exile for seventy years. They had been forcibly removed from their homeland and their beloved temple had been destroyed. They were given a chance to return with Ezra to rebuild their home and place of worship. Years later, Nehemiah heard from Hanani, one of his brothers, that the gates to Jerusalem had been destroyed! The Israelites received one devastating blow after another, still they did not give up. Nehemiah traveled to Judea to oversee the rebuilding of the gates. This is where the remarkable verses of Nehemiah 2:17-18 come in: “Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’ I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.”
Marie Curie says “We are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” Nehemiah was gifted by God the task of rebuilding His dwelling place. It is seen throughout the book of Nehemiah that even though God’s people faced numerous challenges and fierce opposition, they completed the reconstruction of Jerusalem. God ordained them to fulfill this daunting task, and they did. What of God’s people, Christians, today? What is the task for them now?
Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This section of verses is known as the Great Commission.
The word “commission” is defined as “an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people and as a group of people officially charged with a particular function.” Jesus commissioned His disciples to lead others to Him. He commands Christians today to do the same. It is the duty of a Christian to teach others the gospel in the hopes of turning that person’s heart towards God. Is this an easy job? It might be easy to teach those who are willing to listen, but what of those are not open to hearing the words of Jesus? Those are the people who can make the task of leading others to Christ more difficult.
Marie Curie’s words spoken earlier ring truth for Christians. The life of a follower of Christ gets more difficult every day. Despite this, Christians must follow the Great Commission. This wonderful task is what God’s people have been gifted with, and it is what they must do. Nehemiah rebuilt the gates of Jerusalem, even though he faced immeasurable challenges. Christians must help build God’s kingdom, no matter the opposition.