Why are our live so rough?

One day two farmers were talking, one was a Christian, the other an agnostic.  Despite their differences, the two farmers were very good friends and often talked about subjects such as God, the meaning of life, morality, and other such tough subjects.  On this particular instance the agnostic had initiate the conversation and had asked the other farmer: "Friend, if your God is all that you say that he is, then why are you going through such a hard time with your farm?"  In response the Christian farmer looked at his friend and replied "I will answer you after you show me, in the Bible, where it says that Christians are supposed to have easy lives."  The agnostic wasn't about to let the Christian get off that easy though, so he asked "Doesn't it make sense though?  If God really existed and loved you, wouldn't he make life comfortable for you here?"  After thinking for a good long while, the Christian responded "When I go to ship my hogs off to market each Tuesday morning I have noticed something.  It is almost impossible to get my teenage son out of bed to come help as long as he keeps the blankets on the bed.  But if you yank the covers off of the bed and open the windows to allow the cold, early morning air in, he jumps out of bed like a rocket and races to get his warm clothes on; once he is up its easy to get him outside and working."

Our life is kind of like that story about the farmer and his boy.  As Christians, we need to remember that we have a job to do, and limited time to do it in. Remember that throughout history, the Church has been most effective during persecution.  Why is that?  Because when we get comfortable we tend to slack off on the work Christ has called us to.  Another thing is that God uses tough times to teach us many lessons, not the least of which is to be able to rely on him.  So the next time we feel tempted to ask God why life is so hard, maybe instead we should ask "Have I been lying down on the job, or is God trying to teach me something?"