Why should we think that we wouldn't have a cross to carry? Are we somehow more deserving than our Lord?
God gets glory when his strength shines in our weakness.
Sanctification is not by surrender, but by divinely enabled toil and effort.
God tends to do his best work when the odds appear stacked against him.
No one in the history of the world has been more inclusive of repentant sinners than Jesus and no one has been more intolerant of sin.
Much of the impotence of American churches is tied to a profound ignorance and apathy about justification. Our people live in a fog of guilt. Or just as bad, they think being a better person is all God requires.