It Takes Effort

So I completed this word prompt over a couple of days.  Writing at night and falling asleep necessitated such a decision.    But it’s good to take time to write you know?  Keep my brain moving forward. The word prompt this week is Effort, so I turned that into It Takes Effort. 

It Takes Effort

it takes effort to be successful
and it takes effort to be unsuccessful
isn’t it funny how success or failure is
marked by the same thing?
Effort.

Some might say lack of effort is
the reason for failure.
but if one stops to think about it
one has to make a choice to not do something, or
to not research, think things through, etc.

It’s just a different type
of effort don’t you think?
it’s the effort of not doing, of not
thinking you are good enough, or even of choosing
to be content with where you are in life.

Taking some time to consider effort,
particularly in light of Sunday’s message
on Ephesians Two being reminded of what
I used to be, and how grace has been applied
to me in the life I live.

It took effort on the part of Christ to
extend grace to us. He could have chosen not
to be beaten, made fun of, carry a cross,
die on a cross, have nails and a spear stuck
into him, and then to defeat death.

Imagine for a moment the effort it took.

Choosing to do the hard.
To push through to be better than.
Christ is our example of what it means
to make the effort to be more than expected.
Don’t you think?