“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
Being a Christian in America is pretty great. We have the freedom and right to practice our faith without severe persecution, and in some places, without persecution at all. People say often, and it goes in one ear and out the other, that persecution-less experience is a blessing compared to what Christians around the world face.
So when we read this letter from Paul to the Corinthians, unless we have experienced similar persecution to Paul and the early church, it is truly hard to understand what it is like. Perhaps our battle is not a physical one but a social one. But perhaps our battle is just different and, in a way, much deadlier than physical persecution.
It is easy to live a lukewarm Christian life in America, even to the point where we must question if people know what we believe in. We can easily avoid hard conversations or even give unclear answers to save social status or relationships. We can often compromise between our worldly wants and what God has called and planned for us to walk in. We can live our day-to-day lives without genuinely relying on God. Stepping back and living our lives like this is a scary place to be.
The living water that Christ gives us is not lukewarm, and we are empowered in unfathomable ways until we experience them. We can stand firm on the gospel and the truth of God. We can have those hard conversations because God ultimately will do the hard work for us in the souls of those around us. We can give up our earthly desires because God has much more in store for us.
The good news is this: by the grace of God, our faith in Jesus is what eternally saves us. We should constantly ask God to reveal the areas where we can grow and how we can truly be a part of building His kingdom. Not because our faith is in our works or we can boast about our faithfulness and “feel” like we are good. But in the meantime, we may be missing so much of the fullness of life that God has designed for us.