Dana's Christian Journey

God loves seventh grade boys… and He respects their questions. He wants to reveal to them (and everyone) His truth and bring all into a relationship with Himself through His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit, our Helper.

If one believes and obeys the truth of the Gospel and understands he is chosen and blessed with everything he needs for ‘life and godliness,’ what next? I think this third question is about commitment. Seventh grade boys are very observant and notice huge differences in the lives of those who say they follow Jesus. Not every Christian seems to be truly seeking first the kingdom of heaven. So… “If I do follow Jesus with all of my heart, will it be worth it?”

The mature might say such a question reflects self-centeredness rather than Christ-centeredness. Jesus has created us, purchased us with His blood, and made the way for us to live with Him forever… who are we to ask: “Lord, do I really need to be totally devoted to You in order to be Your disciple? And if I give my all… will it be worth it?”

As independent-minded Americans, Jesus’ rhetorical questions may not register: “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So, you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:7-10)

All of us should say: “I owe everything to You so I will surrender all to You. My life is for Your glory… not my own. You loved me first and gave Your life to take away my sins. I am Yours!” But even the apostles asked questions. As Jesus explained the difficulty the rich would have following Him, one spoke up:

“Peter answered Him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in the present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’” (see Mark 10:28-31 and Matthew 19:27-30)

As usual, looking to Christ helps answer our questions. He is the only begotten Son, blessed by His Father in heaven. Knowing who He was, Jesus chose to surrender His own will and yield completely to His Father. “He learned obedience from what He suffered,” (Hebrews 5:8) which must mean even the Son of God grew and progressed on this earth. His life was not taken from Him; He laid it down. ( John 10:18) I think Jesus would tell seventh grade boys (and each of us): “It was worth it to follow My Father’s plan.”

Now He invites us to follow in His steps. And as we make mistakes and struggle with understanding, He patiently teaches us and gives us: infinite love, purpose for living, peace that passes all understanding, joy unspeakable, undeserved mercy, Living Water (which is the Holy Spirit), Bread of Life (which is Himself), fellowship with His Body (which is the Church), forgiveness of sins, abundant grace, the promise of an inheritance from the Father, and eternal life. Following Jesus is more than worth it.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ‘Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature a of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’” Philippians 2:5-11

Regarding Jesus, seventh grade boys have three important questions:

• Is what you’re telling us about Jesus true?
• Can a person really have a day-to-day relationship with Jesus – even though He left this earth almost 2000 years ago?
• If I follow Jesus wholeheartedly, will it be worth it?

Jesus is all about truth… in fact, He is Truth. His reality is not impacted by whether or not we believe… but He wants us to know Him. One day, every person will acknowledge and bow to the Truth.

As when He walked the earth, Jesus patiently implores people to believe in Him. Today, Satan continues to use ‘confusion’ to hinder faith. He knows ‘without faith it is impossible to please God,’ so he makes what is pure sound wrong and what is evil sound good. Truth is the remedy to confusion… but we must pursue it.

On trial, Jesus said: “The reason I was born and came into this world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.” A skeptical Pilate asked: “What is truth?” and then walked away.

A while later, two unlikely sinners reached similar conclusions. “Today, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” The thief on the cross confessed the truth about himself as he realized the holiness of the Man crucified next to him. By asking for mercy, he shows us the beauty of the Truth that saves. He did not have to understand everything… he just needed to petition the One with all authority. The Messiah said: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

Even a Roman centurion recognized what the Jewish religious leaders rejected: “Surely this Man was the Son of God!” God wants Jews and Gentiles, law-abiding citizens and criminals, rich and poor, seventh grade boys and old men to recognize the truth, embrace the truth, and live for the truth.

In 1980, Lee Strobel, a writer for the Chicago Tribune, was upset because his wife had become a Christian. An atheist with a post graduate degree from Yale Law School, Lee determined to use his professional skills to investigate and disprove Christianity. His search took him all over the world. On November 8, 1981, Strobel surrendered his life to Jesus and began telling the world what he discovered.

The Case For Christ was published in 1998 and a movie with the same title came out in 2017. God has used a one-time opponent of the Gospel to proclaim the miraculous rescue of the world through Jesus Christ. Here’s a quote from Lee Strobel:

In short, I didn’t become a Christian because God promised I would have an even happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised such a thing. Indeed, following Him would inevitably bring divine demotion in the eyes of the world. Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus is the one-and-only Son of God who proved His divinity by rising from the dead. That meant following Him was the most rational and logical step I could possibly take.

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men – the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle – I am telling the truth, I am not lying – and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.” I Timothy 2:3-7

The Case For Christ, by Lee Strobel, ©1998 Zondervan