is it worth it?

in the last week i have had a lot of conversations with people either trying to answer that question for themselves, or for someone they love.

is it worth it?

as a christian we are putting our whole purpose of life and livelihood in an adamant "YES!" - we are putting all of our eggs into this Jesus basket and we are closing our eyes and barreling through life until we come out on the other side we are hoping for.

i am reading a book right now by Francis Chan called "Forgotten God" - it is about the severe lack of Holy Spirit we have in our lives and churches these days. and one of the main points it touches on within the first chapter is this question followed by another:

what are you afraid of?

if we have decided to put our faith into God and our life into promoting his name among the nations, then why aren't we searching on a regular basis for new ways to be transformed by the Spirit that is already within us. that Spirit instead is just sitting inside of us, dormant, and in turn we are not the light to the world we are supposed to be. in fact, we are absolutely NO DIFFERENT than the rest of the world. so why would we proclaim to be a Christ follower for anything more than just hoping we will make it to heaven?

in Mark 3:14 Jesus is appointing the 12 apostles. in doing so he says that he calls them for 2 reasons. 1- "to be with Jesus" - which if you are a "christian" this is how we usually classify ourselves. but we are missing the second and most important part that Jesus says immediately after - 2- "to be sent out to preach".

to live out our faith among nations. to set ourselves apart.

when Jesus was about to ascend back up to heaven he tells his disciples that he is leaving them, but that it is necessary to do so, because by him leaving they will receive something "just as good" - the Holy Spirit. are we living as though we have something "just as good" as the real living, breathing Jesus inside of us? i know that i'm not.

i like this quote by oldie Tertullian:
"The Lord challenges us to suffer persecutions and to confess Him. He wants those who belong to Him to be brave and fearless."