Is the Christian faith easy or hard? The answer, I think, is a resounding “Yes!” I was listening to an Andy Stanley message the other day, and he made two excellent points about this matter. His basic point was that becoming a Christian is easy, but becoming a Jesus-follower is not.

According to the standard understanding of the Christian faith (at least among conservative Protestants and many other Christians) Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We could not pay the price for our sins, so we were doomed to die, and go to hell. We were already living in the suburbs of hell. Therefore, God sent his Son in human form to die for us, taking our sins and our punishment upon himself.

I no longer identify myself as a “conservative” or an “evangelical,” due to some of the political and economical ideas that conservatives and evangelicals seem to be embracing these days. However, I still believe in the basic statements I just wrote down in my second paragraph. I do believe that Jesus was God with skin on, and not just a great teacher or prophet, or example, even though Jesus was certainly those things too. I believe that Jesus died for all the sins of all of us, and that, if we trust him, we are saved. So, Andy Stanley is right: Becoming a Christian is easy.

Or is it? Trusting someone else is actually more difficult than it sounds. Any of us who are over the age of three years have probably experienced at least one serious betrayal in our lives. At least one, and probably many more. Trusting anyone or anything is not as easy as it sounds. If we’re honest with ourselves, we have probably betrayed ourselves more than once, too. (Before you deny this, think of the last time you said to yourself, “This time, I am really going to stick with this diet and exercise plan!”)

Still, Andy makes a valid point. In theory at least, becoming a Christian is (or should be) easy.

But then, there is that second part: becoming a Jesus-follower. I still am very much a beginner at that part of the Christian faith. And it is not easy. On the other hand, if Jesus died on the cross for the sins of humankind, and if Jesus told his disciples that they had to take up their own crosses and follow him, then what right do I have to expect following Jesus to be easy? None.

However, there are three things that give me some hope in this difficult matter of becoming a Jesus-follower. These three do not make following Jesus easy, but they do make it slightly less daunting.

First, the Jesus-way is a good way. Even people who don’t believe that Jesus was God in the flesh generally think that he was a good man and lived in a loving way. If so, then it might be a good idea to imitate him.

Second, the Jesus-way leads to a good end. Now, you may be inclined to say, “Ending up on a cross and in a tomb at age thirty-three doesn’t sound like a good end to me!” I have a one-word rebuttal: Resurrection! The early disciples—and the not-so-early disciples—claimed that, much to their shock, Jesus came out of the tomb. Now, you can believe that the disciples were and are lying. I used to believe that myself. Or, at least, I believed that they were mistaken or engaging in wishful thinking. But if it’s true, then the final destination for Jesus was not the cross. If we follow Jesus, the cross isn’t our final destination either. The only question is whether the resurrection really happened or not. I believe that it did, but I realize that it takes some believing.

The third thing that gives me some hope in becoming a Jesus-follower, is that I have some wonderful companions. There are lots of good folks who accompany me on my journey. Some are atheists, some are Jewish, some are search-me-ists. These folks, who make no pretense of following Jesus, nevertheless encourage me in my own faith journey. Many of them are my fellow-addicts. Some are even Jesus followers. One of my most cherished companions on the following-Jesus path is my wife. (No, she is not an addict, though I think she is fond of me. Not addicted; just fond.)

And then, there is Jesus himself. Not super-often, but occasionally, I sense his presence withme, even as I try to follow him. And the fact that I don’t experience his presence more often and more deeply is probably my own fault. I suppose that if I followed more closely, I would experience his companionship more profoundly.

So, in the final analysis, I think that becoming a Jesus-follower isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world, just the best thing.