IS JESUS WORTH IT?

To be honest, this is a question I have literally googled.

It’s crazy to know Jesus and be walking with Him, yet still find yourself in moments where, knowing the answer, you Google questions like this.

That Google search led me to a blog post where a man talked about what following Jesus in high school cost him. He then went on to tell how his obedience to Jesus not only impacted his relationship with God but also inspired the faith of one of the guys on his football team. So, for the author of that post, the answer was an undeniable yes.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I googled that question. I knew the answer was yes, not only because the Bible says so, but also because I had, by that point, already tasted and seen God enough to know that He is.

I guess that, at the end of the day, I just wanted to be reminded that everything we give up for Jesus truly will be counted as a gain.

Recently, my Bible study group has been reading in the book of Acts, and throughout the entire book, we get to see the faith of Paul and how joyous he is to give up all that he has and all that he willed for God’s will. 

There was a moment from Acts 21 that specifically caught my eye and reminded me of that Google search moment. It’s found in verses 10-14, where a prophet told Paul he would be arrested if he did as he was planning and went to Jerusalem. When the people Paul was with heard this, they pleaded with him not to go so that he could avoid what going there would cost him. This was Paul's reply:

“Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (v 13)

So the question any logical person should now have is: why?

Why willingly choose to be bound? Why willingly choose a life of suffering?

I mean, we’re talking about a man who, throughout his life, found himself shipwrecked, beaten with rods, and pelted with stones—just to name a few (2 Cor 11). And although it isn’t told in the Bible how the apostle Paul died, we know for sure that according to his response in verse 13, he was willing to give up his life for the name of Jesus.

So, why go through all of that just to be faithful and obedient to Jesus in telling other people about Him?

The answer to this question is what reminded me of that Google search moment because I believe the same answer that we can find for Paul is the same one that the author of that blog post gave and the same one that any of us following Jesus today would give.

Because Jesus is worth it.

Paul said in Acts 20:24,

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Something to know about following Jesus is that it will cost you something. More specifically, it will cost you to surrender everything to Jesus. It will require you to hand over your will to God and say yes to His will for your life instead.

I know that may seem extra and overbearing, but when you have a genuine encounter with God and you grasp the good news of God’s grace that Paul is talking about, then you can know (and be reminded) that following Jesus truly is worth it.

So, what is the good news of God’s grace? And what is so special about Jesus that makes following Him so important?

The answer to that question is the gospel, and the gospel is the message of Jesus! And so that I don’t leave you hanging, this is the core of the gospel:

God created the world, and He called all that He made good. The world was without sin, and man lived in perfect communion with God. Man rebelled against God, sin entered the world, and because of our sin, mankind became separated from Him. The moment man fell, God began implementing His plan of salvation—a plan He had ordained before the foundation of the world.

According to that plan, Jesus was born of a virgin. He lived a sinless and perfect life that no other human being was able to live. He gave His life as the atoning sacrifice for our sin—a debt that we cannot make right on our own—and He rose to life again so that, through Him, we can be reconciled to God and live as His children now and for all eternity. And we can live with the promised hope that the world as we know it will one day be restored to God’s perfect design, because God is good and He never fails.

I am learning that it is okay to wrestle with God. It is okay to admit when we don’t agree with His Word and His will, and it is okay to ask the messy questions that seem too messy to bring to God. But the key is making sure that we are working through these hard questions with God, not against Him, remembering that, at the end of the day and no matter what, God deserves our worship simply because of who He is—and who He is is always good.

TYJ.

TARA