A Life of Abundance or Trials

Recently I have been conflicted in my ponderings on life. As Christians sometimes we expect God's grace to cover all troubles and shield us from any hurt. We expect prosperity and "abundant life". But the Bible says over and over that we should "boast in persecutions" and "delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties". So I pose a question: Does God want us to be happy? Is life meant to be enjoyed? Or is it simply a means of forming us into the image of Him through all sorts of trials? I admit I wish I could say with all conviction that the answer to that first question is yes but through study and personal experience I am becoming more and more convinced that life is full of pain for our own good.

Scripture:
John 10:10
James 1
2 Thes 1:4

Christ in Us

How can Jesus the Christ, a person, be inside another human? Non-believers don't understand it but who are we kidding, most Christians don't either. Let's consider the following verses:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. John 17:23 (ESV)

Now obviously we are not talking about a physical embodiment. This is a spiritual incarnation of Christ through the Holy Spirit. To understand this we must stop thinking of ourselves as earthly beings- humans. We are spiritual beings housed in bodies that are gifts from God. One of my favorite quotes is from C.S. Lewis. He states, "I don't have a soul, I am a soul. I have a body." Our bodies will never leave this earth. They were never intended to. Our souls, however, were intended to be eternal.

When we invite Christ to take over he creates a new life, destroys the old and begins to mold us toward perfection. I want to briefly take a look at these steps.

New Life
C.S. Lewis calls this The Zoe in his work, Mere Christianity.
"And that is precisely what Christianity is about. This world is a great sculptor's shop. We are all the statues and there's a rumor going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life."
Isn't this exciting? We must be careful however. This new life is not simply reading what Christ said and trying to carry it out.

Demolition
C.S. Lewis writes in the perspective of Jesus,
"I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked--the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead."
I really like this picture. We are often reminded to confess our wicked thoughts, but how often do we give up all of our thoughts? Even the good ones.

Work in Progress
I love this idea of being a masterpiece in progress. We've all heard Romans 8:28. But I like to include verses 29 and 30 also.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30

In these verses we see the process: predestined, called, justified, then glorified. Simulatiously we are saved, being saved, and will be saved. As we work out our salvation, as Lewis says, "It is more like painting a portrait than obeying a set of rules..."

Perfection
Where do we get the idea that God does not expect perfection.

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

I challenge you to read the preceding scripture and see if there is any other possible interpretation. I'm not saying it's easy, just that it is commanded.