MANY YEARS AGO, I would often say that it was hard being a Christian, and I am sure many of you echo that refrain.
In recent times, my language has changed and it isn’t because the “world” has got nicer, the challenges and trials have decreased or the persecution has disappeared. It is because my mind and heart have changed.
Losing my teaching job in 2013 unexpectedly was definitely difficult, but I can honestly say that it has positively transformed my relationship with the Lord over these past three years, resulting in my being a new person and having a new perspective on life. The daily renewal of my mind and the understanding of who I am in Christ have also changed my language, my posture and my actions or response.
The Word of God is the foundation on which everything “truly” Christian is based. I have learnt that it is truly a living library and the “manual of life” – it contains everything we need to navigate this fallen world. Many of us read it simply to gain information, as a response to guilt or when we want something; sometimes I am guilty of this as well.
Given that The Bible is the chief way God speaks to believers, our primary motive for reading it should be to understand Him and ourselves better, which would lead to a deeper and stronger relationship with Him.
Information is good but revelation is priceless, and often comes through quality time spent. You can read a book and gain information about a person, but it is through building a relationship through quality time spent with them that the priceless and hidden qualities, characteristics and intangible things are revealed. It was because of this time spent in the Word and with the Lord that I received revelation of who I really am in Christ, what I should expect of this world, and what God expects of me.
This April will mark seven years of marriage for me, and though it is a very small number, in these modern times seven years of marriage is a massive thing – and it shouldn’t be. I am so looking forward to celebrating 50 years.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my marriage thus far. Each year had its challenges, and I can tell you that the first three were really tough. What made it tough was the actualisation of an old saying: “Come visit muh, come live wid muh ain’t the same thing.”
Although my wife and I had a relationship for ten years before we married, living together and having to spend the quantity and quality of time with each other revealed many attitudes, characteristics, perceptions and behaviours which were either hidden, went unnoticed or were birthed within the confines of marriage.
These things are what made marriage tough. But as time went on and the years passed, it became sweeter and easier – definitely rewarding and life-transforming. Years alone didn’t make it sweeter, but through time spent with each other (talking, listening, sharing and recreation), we learnt about and understood each other more, which put things into perspective.
Relationships will definitely bring out the best and worst in you. When the best is manifested, it shows what you are doing well, while the worst shows what you have to work on. As an immature couple, we did things that hurt, upset and disappointed each other, whether intentionally or not, but as we matured and understood each other better, some things dropped off and others we are consistently working on.
What motived these changes were love, a desire to bring joy to each other, and a longing for a deeper and strengthened relationship. As the relationship deepened and became stronger, it was no longer defined as “tough” or “hard”, but life-transforming.
As a Christian, I have had a similar experience with the Lord. Being in relationship with Him has indeed revealed the good and bad in me and over the years, the bad has dropped – and in some cases is still dropping off – but it is all motivated by love, a desire to bring joy to the Lord and a deeper and stronger relationship.
I saw Christianity as a hard thing because I didn’t have revelation or understanding, and my relationship was immature. The Word of God has indeed changed that. Christianity is indeed life-transforming.
• Corey Worrell, a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, is director of C2J Foundation Inc., a project-based NGO focusing on social development. Email: coreyworrell@gmail.com