Really Making the Most of Jesus

This was originally posted on Facebook, hence the mentions of FB.

Originally typed: January 5, 2011

You may see this note and feel rushed with no time to read it because of the length, but how much time are you gonna waste doing other things today or tomorrow or the next day? Maybe just give it a shot. I mean... you ARE on Facebook, what else of massive importance do you have going? If there is anything you've obviously been willing to put it aside to get on Facebook, so what's another few minutes?

We're not defined by anything we've ever had, anything we have, or anything we will have on this earth, no matter what happiness those things may bring. We're not defined by anything we have ever lost, are losing, or ever will lose on this earth, no matter what pain or distress that may bring. We're not defined by anything that we'll never have on this earth, no matter how great it may have been to have.

That sounds good to say, but it is only of course if what we REALLY value is something more valuable than anything that can be temporally attained and lost. There is one thing, that being Jesus Christ and His glory, that fits this billing.

My goal in this note isn't to have "comments." The goal isn't for you to "like" it. The goal isn't even for you to agree. The goal is to awaken really sincere and critical internal analysis, both for me and for you. It's not just to awaken that analysis, but to turn that analysis into change where necessary in my life and in yours. Many of you who will read this, or who are my friends don't call yourselves "Christians," some call yourselves "Christians" but your lives don't match what you say you believe or whose belief of what it means to be a "Christian" doesn't line up with reality, even fewer actually carry the name and glory of Jesus Christ from the bottom of your hearts, to the words and tones of your mouths, to the thoughts of your minds, to the steps of your feet, and to the actions of your hands, to the expressions of your faces. The question to answer right now for me... Which one of these people am I? The question for you reading this is which one of these people are you? Honestly, are which one are you?

Do you hold onto Jesus as long as you can have whatever else you think makes you happy? Good things in this life will not do it. The good and great things we treasure... our friends, our parents, our children, our families, our spouses, our boyfriends or girlfriends, our fiances, that person we really like, the person we romantically love, the feeling of appreciation, the feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of recognition, the feeling of security, the feeling of comfort, the feeling of safety, financial stability, the breath we breathe... you name it.... are exactly that... good and great and wonderful things and blessings. However, they pale in comparison to the greater glory of knowing Jesus.

Do our lives show that we believe that? I ask myself this and you should too...

"Do I really believe that "to live is Christ and to die is gain?" Do I really believe that only "THE CHRIST," that only "JESUS" is what makes that statement true? If that really is the case...do the people that know me know that I feel that way, could they honestly say that about my life? At the end of my life will they be able to honestly say that? And I'm not just talking about the people I've invested in. I'm not just talking about my "friends." Do more than the people very close to me or in my Sunday school class or home group or bible study or gospel community group or small group or campus ministry or church know that Jesus is the most important thing to me by hearing my words and seeing my actions? Do even those people know it?"

I ask these questions because I really wonder and you should too... If we say we really believe it, the answer to those questions about other people knowing it should be yes. If those questions aren't answered with an honest yes, what can we do to make the answer yes to as many of those questions as possible by the time our lives here are done. We should ask ourselves this. "what can I do where I'm at and where I'm going to make sure that the thing people know about me is how important Jesus is to me, and WHY He is, and WHY He's MORE than worth being that important to them too, because He is the only thing of eternal value that we can ever have?" Do you even want to ask yourself this question? really? Because we may not like the answer. What preconceived notions about my life and yours are we called to give up to for the greater purpose of bringing glory and honor to His name?

All of these things may sound good to some of you, including myself. But VERY few of us will be willing to take the steps necessary to actually make much of Him with our lives. I say "you" in the following statements, but it means "I" as well... I'm writing to myself too.

Are you really willing to take steps necessary to actually make much of Him with your life? Because it MAY mean giving up your comfort. It MAY mean giving up your security, financially or otherwise. It MAY mean giving up the "love" of your life, or what could be the love of your life. It MAY mean giving up your parents' dreams for you, and having do that without them understanding and without the ability to make them understand, but having to try your best to lovingly do that, but not letting the failure to do so stop you. It MAY mean a point where you give up your life in terms of "pulse," and it MAY mean giving up your life in terms of how you thought it would be.

If making the most of Jesus with your life means you don't get to have the career you envisioned, will you give it up joyfully?

If making the most of Jesus with your life means giving up the joy of having your own "biological" children, will you give it up joyfully?

If making the most of Jesus in your life means giving up having a home, will you give it up joyfully?

Maybe you're unmarried, If making the most Jesus with your life means giving up the person you thought you might spend your life with, because they aren't truly desiring to make the most of Jesus in their lives OR maybe because in the process each of you must follow to make the most of Jesus in your lives will require you two to do so separately, will you give it up joyfully?

Maybe you have children... If making the most of Jesus in your life means you have to make decisions that don't provide the "future" you always wanted for your kids in terms of worldly things, can you make that decision joyfully?

Maybe for your child, or parent, or brother, or sister, or current significant other making the most of Jesus with their lives means something uncomfortable for you whether it means following them into uncomfortable places or letting them go away from you, will you be able to support them joyfully?

There are these and many other situations, you know what they may be in your lives, but are you really willing to give up the things of importance to you to make the most of Jesus Christ with your life, and are you willing to get out of the way or go along with when necessary to help others do the same, and will you be able to do it joyfully?

The likely answer to all or some of these questions for you and me in reality is NO in our heart. The question is do we wanna get there and if we do what will we do to get there? We get there by realizing how great Jesus is. And we can only remotely get there by spending time with Him and getting to know Him. If you're not there, what are you willing to do to get there? What are you willing to do to want to make the most of Jesus with your life? Chances are if you believe in Jesus or say you believe in Him and that He died on the cross for you and for His ultimate glory, that you know that you SHOULD seek the most of Him with your life. But what are you willing to do to with your life and your time to take that from a mental knowledge to a heart that truly desires it?

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO REALLY WANT TO MAKE THE MOST OF JESUS WITH YOUR LIFE? And what are you gonna do about it? What are you gonna do about it starting NOW? If you're convicted that's one thing now, but beyond that what are you gonna do about it in the wake of conviction, when the convictions numb in a few hours when someone cuts you off in traffic, or when someone hurts you, or when go to bed tonight or when you get up in the morning. What are you going to do with your time? Who are you going to give your time to?

Many of you are reading this all across a spiritual spectrum from those who hate Jesus and those who love him or claim to love him all the way to those of you who REALLY do get it and live it. You fall somewhere in this line. Where you may fall I don't know. That's not for me to judge or me to determine. That's for you to earnestly seek out, and it's not something you've got the luxury of putting off. Where you should be and where you are are likely quite different. But you've got to figure out where you are to figure out how to get where you're going. To know direction you must know two points, where you are and where you're going. You may not know either. But figure out where you are first, and that often depends on where you really want to go with your life. When you see this, as most of us will, that you aren't where you should be and exactly where you are, then you can begin to figure out how to get where you should be. And that may take something as simple as wanting to actually want to be where you should be. But answer these questions now, because if you don't start now, before you know it, whether you live to be 120 years old or till tomorrow, you will be out of time to make the most of the most important thing, Jesus.

This is going to mean many different things to many of you. Making the most of Jesus in your life is only something that you and Jesus can determine together, and that comes through the spirit and spending time with Him. It's been said by someone who I'll leave "unnamed" and I'll paraphrase/add to...that it's not as much what you do so much in this life or where you go or what people you go with or to, but it's what you carry with you and how that affects it. That thing you must carry and that I must carry is the desire to make the most of Jesus. Only then can we have nothing to fear. Only then can we have nothing to lose. Not because what we have is nothing, but because we let nothing no matter how great or wonderful stand in the way of the only thing that actually matters eternally. It doesn't mean we don't ever experience any of those things, that's different for each of us. However, it really is true "If He be for us, who can be against us?"

If what we treasure and hold dear is eternal...What then shall we fear? What do we have or can we have that we should fear losing?

Don't fear what it may mean to make the most of Jesus, just know that whatever it may be is worth it, and live that way. I pray that for you. And I need your prayers in that for me too.

There's more that could be said, but that's for another time. This isn't exhaustive. But that's all for now... If you do like this note, don't "like" it on facebook, like it with your lives. If you want to comment, comment with your life. If it sparks anything in you good or bad... just message me in my inbox if you must communicate, or share your concerns or requests or needs with someone close to you. Whether it's negative or if it's just for prayer to help you find what you need or how get where you need to be. Heck I don't know what it is, but inbox it to me if it's anything. I'll probably delete any public comments or likes, because they are not what this is about. Just dig deep in your heart and find what's there and take what you know should be there and pray that the two and would meet in the actions of your life and mine.

Seriously... the only action "facebook" wise you should take from this is either to inbox me... or copy and paste and repost it as one of your notes for your friends to see, advising them to do the same. And that's ONLY if you agree with it and will actually pray for them if they message you and only if you are genuinely seeking these things in your life. Because it's no more my words than it is yours... It's all from Him and for Him, so maybe it can be viral to the point that no one knows who started it and only that it was said, isn't that the point?