Dangers of Comfort

I recently heard a story which I assume was to be an illustration. I don’t know if this happened, but it could have. It is about a mouse that crawled into a jar filled with rice. At first, it nibbled the rice that surround it. Since the jar was filled to the top, the mouse could have left at any time. A day or two later, the mouse still could easily jump out of the container, but it was getting used to being comfortable. As the days passed, the rice level continued to drop. By the time the rice ran out, the distance to the top was getting too high. What it might have been able to escape from when the ordeal began, now was impossible due to the out of shape of mouse. The mouse wasn’t forced into the jar as a prisoner. It wasn’t tricked into staying. The problem was that the mouse became too used to the comfort that it never desired to escape... until it was too late. What a sad story. There are a lot of such “mice” in the church today. These people are not focused on what God is calling them to do. As a matter of fact, they might vote against doing things that are not appealing to them or easy to do. They see God’s word as a directive to someone else... often the pastor. Now I am not saying that a pastor should not be doing these things, but I believe it is a call for all believers. God says to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them... not stay and wait for them to come to you. In most churches, less than 10-15% of the congregation is serving God actively. That means the vast majority may be inactive when it comes to serving God. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate them coming to church, and I pray that the word will begin to grow in their hearts but imagine if 100% of the church was active. I’m not just talking about serving on the church council or ushering. I’m talking about being ambassadors, representing Jesus to the people around us. I’m not saying that we should never be comfortable, but when comfort becomes a goal and serving God takes a back seat, we are out of step with God. There is a time for everything under the sun. How to we justify taking up our cross and following Jesus... with relaxing and being comfortable? Each of us have been given gifts, but we must use them. Father, You call us to represent You, but being comfortable is often more appealing than being obedient. Help is Holy Spirit. Amen