I was reading back over my last post and realized that a couple of ideas were let loose without much of a context. In reading through the beginning of my comments, it could seem that I am asserting that Jesus Christ is not a comforter. Now, clearly, I'm not talking down comforter here. My point was merely that the media has contorted that beautiful image of comfort into a Jesus that takes no stand at all, but comes to keep us comfortable where we are. That is not the comforter I know Christ to be.

Lately, I've been asked by more than one person who Christ is to me, what I would describe his relationship with me to be. Aside from "Lord," my first inclination is always to say Comforter, Consoler and Friend. So, the idea of a Christ that comforts is very much dear to my heart. Christ is one who comes to comfort when I am in distress, when I am weary, when I am nearing despair. He fills me when I am empty. A frequent image that comes to mind when I am deepest in prayer, just sitting in the presence of Christ, is me sitting at His side with my head on his shoulder.

I was sharing this with someone recently, and they likened it to the image of Jesus with the beloved disciple at the Last Supper, with the disciple resting his head on Christ's chest. In that same week, I was listening to someone speak at a conference, and he referenced that same relationship and image to encourage us to take time to be with Christ, to stop speaking long enough to just be with him. As I reflect on how that relationship develops, I wonder if those who become passionately embroiled in the business of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ don't first get to know him as a Lord who comforts, heals and transforms.

I wonder if it is by that very healing and comforting that we begin to get a glimpse of a God who is with us always, in everything. Perhaps it is that encounter with Christ that begins to chip away at our tendency to relate to God as we relate to one another, never quite fully trusting because our human examples have somehow failed to live up to our expectations. Once we begin to experience His healing and His constant comfort, the fruits of promises kept (I'm told that there are over a thousand in the Bible...), perhaps we begin to open ourselves to the challenge He presents to grow closer to Him, to die to self, to love as God loves.

Of course we all have our inconsistencies and incongruencies of what we believe and how we live. The quest for holiness and sainthood is a constant battle to eradicate those differences. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many people claim a kinship with Christ, but don't allow themselves to be challenged by Him. Have we bought into the Jesus who says "Hey, you're okay," and leaves it there? Have we lost our connection to the Word made flesh?

Or is it just that leading an unexamined life, or rather a life unexamined by the principles of Christ, is so much easier that we have chosen to do the least possible to claim our faith? Perhaps it is not that we do not examine, but that we do not examine deeply or often enough - we are too easy on ourselves and others because we've become so weary of the daily stresses of life. We've become victim to the line of thinking that says we cannot change - we cannot change ourselves because of how we were raised, what society tells us, etc etc etc., and we certainly cannot change the world given the state of our own lives.

Christ tells us differently. In Matthew 11:28, Christ invites us to find refuge in him when the world seems too much. "Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Who are we to claim that life is just too hard? Jesus, the man who was condemned to death, who has become our Savior, the one through whom death was conquered, calls us to him in those moments. Christ, our Comforter, promises us respite from the storm. In exchange, he asks only one thing - everything. Daunting? You bet! Are we alone in it? Heck, no! His promise of comfort and respite is everlasting. "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you," he promises us in John 14:18.

We have only to share our walks with Christ, to witness to the miracles He has done in our own lives to know that His promises are more lasting than...Twinkies (or something that lasts a really long time - I'm not a scientist, so someone would find fault with whatever element I entered here). So, if we find ourselves weary and in doubt, perhaps it is the time to sit with Christ, our Comforter and our Hope before we can hear and answer Christ our loving challenger.