The Pathway of Inconvenience

Don't you hate getting sick? Don't you despise the fever of the flu, the misery of an upset stomach, the ache of a broken bone? Isn't it frustrating when you don't feel well enough to get a good night's sleep, accomplish a full day's work, or enjoy your favorite foods and your favorite hobbies? Illness is downright inconvenient!

My wife and my daughter are nurses and my son-in-law is a doctor. You'd think it would give me a strong sense of safety and comfort to be surrounded by so many health-care professionals, but that's not always the case. My loved ones are so familiar with complicated medical problems, they're unimpressed by my little ailments. When I complain about my aches and pains, my wife suggests a couple of aspirin and mutters, "You need to quit working so hard." My son-in-law shrugs and says, "You should have seen what I handled in the emergency room last week!"

Yes, illness is inconvenient—especially when no one sympathizes—but it's nothing compared to the inconvenience of dying.

Death interrupts everything. When you die, what will happen to all those projects you've been trying to finish at work? What about those plans you were making for retirement, and the money you were saving for a rainy day?

Death shuts the door on many things we consider important. No more hobbies and amusements. No more trying to impress other people or climb the ladder of success. And what about all those special things you have wanted to do with your family? Those unspoken words of appreciation or apology you've been planning to express to an old friend? That extra gift you thought about giving to your church or to another favorite ministry? You'd better do it now, say it now, and give it now. When death arrives, those opportunities depart.

Death is inconvenient even for those you leave behind. Your loved ones will take time off from work to attend your funeral. They will interrupt their schedules for a few days to assemble and remember you—but then, somehow life will go on.

Unable to prevent the approach of death, we avoid thinking about it or we talk about it in casual and careless terms. Yet, the Bible talks about death not merely as an inconvenience to be endured, but as an enemy to be defeated. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26).

To defeat death, Jesus chose the unspeakably inconvenient pathway of the cross. To follow in his footsteps, we must choose the path of inconvenience as well. Jesus said "Deny yourself," not "Indulge yourself." "Take up your cross," not "Take the path of least resistance."

We're headed toward a place where there will be no more sickness, sorrow, or death. Until we arrive in that glorious destination, our choices about life—from conception to the grave—must be guided not by what is most convenient, but by what is right in the eyes of God.