Who are we as Christians supposed to be?

Who are we as Christians supposed to be? Were we saved to sit walk around and paint a beautiful picture of life with no worries, no cares, and perfect family and social relationships? Is that what Jesus came, died and resurrected for? I mean I hear and see bible preachers get in front of their perspective congregations and tell them that if they give their live to Jesus, He take care of everything for them. It’s like one lady right after President Obama got elected, she said; “I’m so happy, now I don’t have to worry about putting gas in my car or paying my mortgage.” As if President Obama himself was going to personally pay for everything in her life. Is that the picture that we as Christians are expected to paint to those that we are speaking to about what we believe? “Just come to Christ and He will pay all your bills and take care of your children, they will never get into any trouble and grow up to be lawyers, doctors, and possibly the next president.” “If you give your heart to God then he make sure that your never feel pain anymore and you will never have a challenging moment or time of struggle every again in your life.”
If that is what is required from this generation of Christian, then I will never be able to measure up to those “difficult” requirements. Mainly because of what I read in the Bible, perhaps those preachers that preach “happy-go-lucky” sermons don’t read everything in their Bibles, or maybe its just that they are people pleasers and they don’t want to offend anyone, or maybe they are all about the size of their congregation and they feel like light, easy sermons will bring more people through the building doors. But the bible I read has numerous accounts of Christians going through hard and strenuous times.
2 Corinthians 1:8 (ESV)
8For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers,[a] of(A) the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
2 Corinthians 6:3-10 (ESV)
3We(A) put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4but(B) as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:(C) by great endurance,(D) in afflictions,(E) hardships, calamities, 5(F) beatings, imprisonments,(G) riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6(H) by purity,(I) knowledge, patience, kindness,(J) the Holy Spirit,(K) genuine love; 7by(L) truthful speech, and(M) the power of God; with(N) the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8through honor and dishonor,(O) through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9as unknown, and(P) yet well known;(Q) as dying, and behold, we live;(R) as punished, and yet not killed; 10(S) as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;(T) as poor, yet making many rich;(U) as having nothing,(V) yet possessing everything.
Just in these two passages we see that the biblical Christians knew what suffering and hardship was. So if they suffered for the name of Jesus, and faced hardship some to the point of “despairing of life itself”, who do we think we are?! Do we seriously think that becoming a Christian will magically transform our future from pain and struggle to meadows of daisies and fresh air? No, rather Jesus inside of us gives strength and endurance to make it through the hard times. When struggles and pain come, Jesus whispers in our hearts; “keep moving forward, I know it’s hard now and it hurts, but I KNOW how you feel. I’ve been there too, and I will help you get through this.” Jesus doesn’t magically take us and move us AROUND the difficult times; he walks with us THROUGH them and sees us to the other side. And once we get there he looks at us and says, “See I told you that you were stronger then you thought you were.”
So if there requirement for Christianity is to paint a easy care-free life, then I’m never going to be able to be a Christian in that sense. Rather I will preach and teach that hard time will come, but that Jesus, our savor and our King, will help us through and see us to he other side.