January 16th, 2016
THE RACE IS WORTH IT
That's what we Christians don't say often enough, I think. It's what I don't say often enough.
Not long after I became a Christian, there was this period of time I had where I told everyone about what a sacrifice it was to follow Jesus. I had just learned what the word 'martyr' meant and instead of turning me away from The Lord, it lit a mini fire inside my soul. I started talking about it. A lot. I'd say things like, "Did you know if you follow Jesus, you could get killed for it? For your faith?" People would laugh awkwardly. "There's lots of things you have to give up when you get born again." What? Get born again, Annika? I don't even think that's proper terminology. Good job evangelizing, kid.
For that period of time, I was so set on stressing sacrifice to people. It was the only part of Christianity I talked about. It made my parents think I was an absolute lunatic and totally turned them away from my Saviour.
The author of Hebrews puts the life of a Christian as 'running a race'. It starts when you give your life to Jesus and ends when you take your last breath on this earth. The day you become a Christian, your race begins. My 15 year old self preached that you better get some good running shoes or don't even bother setting foot on the track. I was fine with scaring people. Like, hello, explain what the word martyr means to a 15 year old girl and talk her through upside down crucifixions. Yikes.
As [embarrassing] as it is to think about that time, and as hard as it is to think about the people I may have frightened, I think I was kind of on to something. By no means do I think we should EVER preach and carry around this tiny, fluffy gospel. Like, Jesus loves me and everything will always be perfect and He'll give you everything you want and you'll have a carefree life. Yeah, Jesus DOES love you. Jesus DOES take away pain. But come on people, you still live on a broken planet called earth and your race WILL bang you up. You do have to sacrifice. You do give stuff up. It will be painful. But you know what?
THE RACE IS WORTH IT
BECAUSE HE IS WORTH IT
That's the part I was missing.
He. Is. Worth. It.
I don't think we should ever deny sacrifice or speak in a light way about The Lord. But when I was 15 I talked about Jesus like an commander in an army. I was nearly attacking people... throwing myself at them in the name of The Lord. In my 3 and a half years of being a Christian, I have learned a lot [don't worry, I know I haven't learned everything]. The most important thing I've been taught? It's all about Jesus. All of it. It's all about Him. Nothing will matter when you get to the gates of heaven and stand before God except one thing- what did you do with Jesus Christ while you were on earth? What did you do with Him? Did you believe in Him? Did you seek Him? Did you love Him? Was He the apple of your eye?
Instead of launching myself at people and explaining the word martyr, I think maybe I should have just focused on Christ. Maybe I should have shut up about upside down crucifixions and talked about the best person ever. Because now, 3 and a half years later, I think I finally get it: Jesus. I think I finally get that it's all about Him. I think I finally, finally, finally get that He is faithful and loving and good and just and righteous and holy. I think I finally get Him a bit more. And grasping Jesus, grasping that a perfect God would come and live and breathe and die for His people... Grasping who He is makes me love Him. Grasping the cross makes me run this race faster and harder and better.
Amen to the writer of Hebrews- following Jesus is like running a race. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes your muscles ache. Sometimes you need to stop and rest. Sometimes the path is painful. Sometimes it's clear. But if you will just turn your eyes to Him- if you'll just fix your eyes on a wooden cross made 2,000 years ago, you'll learn something. And when you learn it, you'll willingly sacrifice stuff. You'll willingly give stuff up. You'll gladly be persecuted for His name. What will you learn that will radically change your life?
THE RACE IS WORTH IT
THE RACE IS WORTH IT
That's what we Christians don't say often enough, I think. It's what I don't say often enough.
Not long after I became a Christian, there was this period of time I had where I told everyone about what a sacrifice it was to follow Jesus. I had just learned what the word 'martyr' meant and instead of turning me away from The Lord, it lit a mini fire inside my soul. I started talking about it. A lot. I'd say things like, "Did you know if you follow Jesus, you could get killed for it? For your faith?" People would laugh awkwardly. "There's lots of things you have to give up when you get born again." What? Get born again, Annika? I don't even think that's proper terminology. Good job evangelizing, kid.
For that period of time, I was so set on stressing sacrifice to people. It was the only part of Christianity I talked about. It made my parents think I was an absolute lunatic and totally turned them away from my Saviour.
The author of Hebrews puts the life of a Christian as 'running a race'. It starts when you give your life to Jesus and ends when you take your last breath on this earth. The day you become a Christian, your race begins. My 15 year old self preached that you better get some good running shoes or don't even bother setting foot on the track. I was fine with scaring people. Like, hello, explain what the word martyr means to a 15 year old girl and talk her through upside down crucifixions. Yikes.
As [embarrassing] as it is to think about that time, and as hard as it is to think about the people I may have frightened, I think I was kind of on to something. By no means do I think we should EVER preach and carry around this tiny, fluffy gospel. Like, Jesus loves me and everything will always be perfect and He'll give you everything you want and you'll have a carefree life. Yeah, Jesus DOES love you. Jesus DOES take away pain. But come on people, you still live on a broken planet called earth and your race WILL bang you up. You do have to sacrifice. You do give stuff up. It will be painful. But you know what?
THE RACE IS WORTH IT
BECAUSE HE IS WORTH IT
That's the part I was missing.
He. Is. Worth. It.
I don't think we should ever deny sacrifice or speak in a light way about The Lord. But when I was 15 I talked about Jesus like an commander in an army. I was nearly attacking people... throwing myself at them in the name of The Lord. In my 3 and a half years of being a Christian, I have learned a lot [don't worry, I know I haven't learned everything]. The most important thing I've been taught? It's all about Jesus. All of it. It's all about Him. Nothing will matter when you get to the gates of heaven and stand before God except one thing- what did you do with Jesus Christ while you were on earth? What did you do with Him? Did you believe in Him? Did you seek Him? Did you love Him? Was He the apple of your eye?
Instead of launching myself at people and explaining the word martyr, I think maybe I should have just focused on Christ. Maybe I should have shut up about upside down crucifixions and talked about the best person ever. Because now, 3 and a half years later, I think I finally get it: Jesus. I think I finally get that it's all about Him. I think I finally, finally, finally get that He is faithful and loving and good and just and righteous and holy. I think I finally get Him a bit more. And grasping Jesus, grasping that a perfect God would come and live and breathe and die for His people... Grasping who He is makes me love Him. Grasping the cross makes me run this race faster and harder and better.
Amen to the writer of Hebrews- following Jesus is like running a race. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes your muscles ache. Sometimes you need to stop and rest. Sometimes the path is painful. Sometimes it's clear. But if you will just turn your eyes to Him- if you'll just fix your eyes on a wooden cross made 2,000 years ago, you'll learn something. And when you learn it, you'll willingly sacrifice stuff. You'll willingly give stuff up. You'll gladly be persecuted for His name. What will you learn that will radically change your life?
THE RACE IS WORTH IT