I recently read a description of a comic strip called For Better or Worse. In the comic strip a young boy is playing checkers with his grandfather. The following dialogue takes place:
“Oh, no! Not again!” shouted the young boy. “Grandpa you always win!”
“What do you want me to do?” replied the grandfather, “lose on purpose? You won’t learn anything if I do that.”
“I don’t wanna learn anything,” the young boy said, “I just wanna win.”
This comic strip touches on the essence of how many people live their lives. They just want to win. When applied to the Christian life I believe that holds true as well. We don’t want to struggle; we want things to come easy. But if we pay attention, life doesn’t come easy. It is difficult. Being a Christian doesn’t take that away. We struggle. We are challenged. Yet there is a purpose in all of this. God wants to take us to deeper places where we can grow and live a life that makes a difference in our world.
Sometimes we do win. But winning without struggle leaves us where we began. But to struggle, learn and then win, that will change us. It grows our faith and our usefulness in the Kingdom.