Come out of your comfort zone

If there's one thing I hate more than anything it's moving. Packing up years of accumulated stuff and  moving it across town, across country, to another state or as in this most recent case, to another cubicle at my workplace just doesn't appeal to me. In the short time I've been on my job, I've been asked to move five times within the same large, open floor plan. Needless to say, I took this latest uprooting hard mostly because I was comfortable where I was.

I had got use to being there. I was friendly with my cubicle mate, liked the limited view from the nearby window and it was close to the bathroom. Then somebody got the bright idea to move us around...AGAIN! Reluctantly, I arrived at my newly assigned digs loaded down with boxes and determined not to like it. At this point I couldn't see any positives. And to make matters worse, I was thrown in with a new group of co-workers who I pegged as "younger, louder and most unfriendly." There was no way I had anything in common with this bunch, nor did I ever think I would. Right now, you're probably thinking that I'm a real SNOB without the "N." But wait, before you judge me prematurely, read on. It gets better.

As I sat there stewing in my own stubborn juices, the Holy Spirit spoke these words to my heart: "Jesus wasn't comfortable either when he hung on that cross for you. He wasn't comfortable when his accusers spit in His face...wasn't comfortable when the soldiers beat him with cords...wasn't comfortable when they forced Him to carry a heavy cross...wasn't comfortable when the people mocked him as He was dying... wasn't comfortable when the soldiers stabbed Him in his side...wasn't comfortable when his tongue swelled in his mouth from thirst...wasn't comfortable as he struggled to breathe his last breath for you and me." Wow, that really got my attention.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by guilt and shame realizing now that my present discomfort couldn't even compare to what Jesus had suffered not only for me, but for the whole world. The words of Isaiah 53:5 came back to me: "But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received (GNV)."  Leave it to God to put things in their proper perspective, and us in our proper place...at the foot of the uncomfortable Cross of Calvary. Followers of Christ are not called to a life of ease but to a life of service, even if it means giving up some creature comforts.