Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy tells a story of an old cobbler named Martin. After the death of his wife and child, he cried out in despair to a godly old friend, "What now is a man to live for?" His friend replied, "For God, Martin. For God." "And how must one live for God?" Martin asked. "Christ has shown us the way," said the believer. "Buy the Gospels and read. There you'll find out how to live for God. There everything is explained," he said.

So that same day Martin bought a New Testament and began to read. The more he read, the more clearly he understood what God wanted of him and what it meant to live for God. And his heart grew lighter and lighter.

Then one day Martin read Luke 6:27-35, and it suddenly hit him that Jesus' words were hard sayings. He pondered the command in verse 29, "To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also." As he began to see how his life didn't measure up to Jesus' words, he cried out, "O Lord, help me!"

We also may feel that obedience to Jesus' words is too difficult for us. His hard sayings seem impossible to obey. Like Martin, we must cry out, "O Lord, help me!" Without Him we can do nothing.  — David H. Roper