And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
- Romans 8:11
It’s hot. Like, really hot. Perhaps you’ve noticed.
Whenever summers like this one reach peak intensity, some combination of local news reporters, YouTubers, and bored schoolkids make their way outside to test an urban myth: can you really fry an egg on the sidewalk? Some swear they’ve seen it done, while others insist they’re lying. No less an authority than the Library of Congress says it’s possible but not probable to do so, since eggs need to be cooked at nearly 160° to cook through and sidewalks rarely get above 145°.
Could you really fry an egg on the sidewalk this week? The only way to know for sure is to give it a try.
Following the teachings of Jesus feels a lot like that sometimes. Some of the things he says to do—to forgive not seven times but seventy times seven, to love your enemies, to judge not lest you be judged—these feel utterly impossible at times. Being obedient to Jesus feels like a lost cause when you think about how often you stumble.
And indeed, some will tell you there’s no hope of obedience, that Jesus was offering aspirational ideals and not concrete commands. But Scripture offers another word, saying that by the power of the Holy Spirit you are sanctified day by day, conformed to the image of Christ. Every day you choose to follow Jesus, the Spirit empowers you to do so.
The
task of discipleship is seemingly impossible: be like Jesus. But God has given
us what we need so that, moment by moment, we can bring a little bit of heaven
to this place called earth. So can you follow Jesus? The only way to
know for sure is to give it a try.
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