We all have them: those days where the unexpected and uncontrollable have seemingly colluded against us. At least, that’s how it feels to me. And it puts me on the defensive to protect what I thought my day should be. If the unexpected is demanding or risky or messy, I shut it down. Decisions are based on what’s most convenient or secure or whatever maintains a calm facade. I run interference by holding an arm out against life itself, trying to keep it from infiltrating my comfort zone.
Isn’t that what Jesus was offering in John 10:10? “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying comfort zone”? No, he purposed to give us “a rich and satisfying life”—abundant life, where we are free from serving self (and our plans) so that we might serve God and others. Serving others will rarely be convenient or safe or allow us to maintain a perfected veneer. Serving others will be anything but comfortable. But it will be the way of true comfort and true joy.
Jesus has come to rescue us from the egomania that traps us in self-serving comfort zones. Romans 12:2 urges, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (emphasis mine). The gospel is the reset button our minds need. The abundant life allows us to live lives of compassion instead of convenience, trust instead of safety, and humility instead of perfected control. Therein we find the rich and satisfying life Jesus offers.
Erin Straza is the author of Comfort Detox: Finding Freedom from Habits That Bind You (InterVarsity Press). Learn more at ErinStraza.com. Adapted from Comfort Detox by Erin Straza. Copyright © 2017 by Erin Straza. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426. www.ivpress.com.
