One of the many things I appreciate about the calling God has given to us, is that He doesn’t sugar-coat things.

He has preserved for us His instruction in the Bible with all sorts of stories showing us the weaknesses, challenges and successes of those who have gone before us. Christ tells us, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…” (John 15:20). God has foretold the rejection of His instruction by the world at large, but He also tells us of a time when He will restore all things (Matthew 17:11).

God’s way of life is not for the faint-hearted, but thankfully we don’t have to walk that path on our own power alone, as the apostle Paul explains, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,” (Ephesians 6:10). God’s calling does require a serious commitment from us, however, because in taking that step at baptism we become at odds with the direction of the world around us.

Christ put it this way: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it,” (Matthew 7:13-14).

The challenge of the narrow path

Why is that? Part of the answer lies in the few things I mentioned above. Humanly we seek the easy way, the convenient way, the way of getting along with the group, or the way of not rocking the status quo. God’s way of life is based on knowing, doing, believing and teaching, and a big part of all of His way of life is simply doing what He asks of us. This is why there is such a separation between those of us who are His “called out ones” and the world – to do the opposite of the world around us makes us conspicuous.

Christ said His way involved the narrow path. This path is not the path of the status quo as the world sees it, and nobody likes to be seen as wrong. To “succeed” by the world's standards involves compromises – with God’s laws, with matters of right and wrong, of truth versus error and more. To “do” – to put into action godly principles and thoughts – requires standing up against the world and saying “I will not compromise what is right.” The world has a tendency to beat those people down.

How do we measure success?

Success in this world is fleeting. Who remembers the second or third place winners of the last summer Olympics? Who was the number one businessman of twenty years ago? Who was the number one entertainer, or actor or director of ten years ago? Life moves on and people forget the accomplishments of just a few years ago, but God’s way of life and the character we develop will endure for eternity – never to be forgotten.

We may not get the fame, the money, the recognition or position the world currently seeks now, but we will have more. We will be the sons and daughters of God in His Kingdom: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom,” (Luke 12:32).

Doing our part

Our calling right now is to make the choice between accepting the compromises of this world or committing to God’s truth no matter what others do. We may lose family temporarily, we may face hardship and persecution at times, we may struggle at times in overcoming our human nature, but we must continue forward on the narrow way because a future in the family of God is worth all the trouble.

Seek to know God’s truth, seek to do (put into action) His way of life, seek to become a son or daughter of God so that we can teach the rest of the world in the future what it means to not compromise on living a godly life.