heavy is the burden

Heavy is the burden, great is the reward. If you have been a long time believer, this is a phrase you have heard often. Constantly we are reminded of the difficulty of walking in a world where we don’t belong. We are reminded as we walk by the Union. We are reminded as we are chided for not taking a drink. We are reminded as we make the decision to live apart rather than with your long-term partner. Every decision we make, virtually, alienates us in some way from those around us. I should re-phrase that, every decision we make should alienate us from those around us.

“…If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.”

John 15:18-19 MSG

How different do we look than those around us? I was convicted us this just recently, in fact. My decisions were slowly but surely pulling me into the mold of the world. I heard the whisper, “Let go for once. We all deserve to let go every now and then.” That whisper was begging me to set down the heavy burden and to be accepted by the world. Although, as I mentioned earlier, great is the reward. When we are given the choice between something good or great, the obvious choice is great. But, what if we don’t know what the good and great are? Or further, we know what the good is, but we don’t know what the great is. Will we still choose the great? If given the choice between one million dollars or a wildcard, my estimation is that most would choose the comfortable one million. I chose the comfortable. The easy. Although, the burden of difference was not lifted. I felt that burden even stronger than before because I was consciously making a decision that was unlike who I was- not of the world. We are called to live a life uncomfortable, difficult, and constantly in opposition to our nature as children of God. To lighten that heavy burden is not to “let go” but to let God. Let God take the burden, hide away in his love and his comfort. That is what lightens the burden because it reveals glimpses of the reward.