Have your efforts been met with these words?

Well-meaning friends & family mention that there’s another way: easier, faster, cheaper. Reach the objective & get on to the next thing. They try, but they just don’t understand. They have different priorities, enjoyments, or experiences.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about using a swiffer wet jet instead of a hand-wrung mop & bucket. I like grabbing a bagel or bowl of cereal when I don’t feel like fixing bacon & eggs. But sometimes, some things…shortcuts aren’t always the way to go.

I was considering this and got curious about Jesus’ wilderness temptations. Take another look.

How much easier would it have been for the Creator to whisper to a stone & get a nice steaming roll of bread? Maybe with butter, or even meat & cheese. None would see Him, and after 40 days, none would blame Him. But He said no. Not only that, but He repeated a verse that states that food isn’t always the priority. So when He waited at the well to reveal God’s work to a foreign woman, He was already familiar with putting God’s Kingdom before His empty belly.

How much faster would it have been for the world’s Ultimate Hero to make a spectacular & undeniable display than to teach, and heal, and feed…to explain that God’s ways of doing things don’t match humanity’s? Over three years of questions & answers & accusations & misunderstandings vs. about five minutes of “wow!” Knowing that following the plan would mean days of being dog-tired & still having to deal with confrontations, complaints, and when He gets a little snooze, His closest followers scream, “Don’t you care?!” See Him think “you have no idea” as He rubs His self-imposed tired human eyes & deals with the storm.

How much cheaper to “take a knee” and receive all the people as a gift from the hand of the usurper. They’d be His loyal subjects, no question. He could always start over with another universe somewhere. Of course, the accuser would remind Him that He gave in and turned one planet of people into robots. No dice. Only One is worthy of worship, and His name is not Lucifer. Our value to Him is worth much more than a cheap deal with a liar.

Jesus could have taken an easier, faster, cheaper way to being our Savior, but He didn’t. He gave the time, and the energy, and the expense of the cross & grave. Then He topped it off with the one thing the enemy wasn’t ready for. After taking on the worst Satan could throw at Him, He rose from death and invites us to join Him.

It isn’t easy, fast, or cheap, but it is so very worth it, especially after our resurrections. Take no shortcuts. Accept no substitutes. You’ll thank Him!