Why do you follow Jesus?

Yesterday, during our Bible Study time, I challenged my oldest two children to answer this very question.  I said that one day they will be asked it by not only strangers, but also by loved ones too.  Family members and friends and acquaintances, who have not yet come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, will look at their life as Christians and want to know the answer to the big "WHY?!"

"Why do you follow Jesus?"

And I reminded them, that when that time came, they were to be READY and PREPARED with their answer that would not only give information, but hopefully draw that person closer to faith in Jesus themselves.  Because the wrong answer at that time, will most certainly push them away!!  It happens each and every day.

So, I let my children answer, and I just told them to think about, "What has Jesus ever done for you?"

Both of their answers were pretty similar, they each shared of a time when they were spared extreme pain, illness, injury, or even death.  They said, "Jesus saved us in those moments, because He loves us."

And you know what...they were almost right, but not quite.

See, I reminded them that God's love for us is NOT shown by whether or not we have an easy, healthy, pain-free life in this world!  That's not what we should expect out of this life at all.  In fact, we have known people...children even, that have not been protected from all suffering and pain and death in this life.  So, I took that opportunity to remind them of a dear little boy held in our hearts, so that they could think deeper and differently about this concept of God's love being shown in our lives.

"Remember John?"  I asked them, "Do you think God loves John?"

They both said, "Yeah."

"But, if God loves John, then why wasn't he saved from the things he went through as a result of a car wreck?"  I responded.

You could see the wheels clicking and turning in their minds trying to think through that one.  As I told them, the proof of God's love for us is not about healing us or protecting us from harm and bad things--He is capable and DOES do those things for us all at various times in our lives--but His love was ultimately shown for us through Jesus Christ.  He gave His own Son as the SACRIFICE for our sins so that WE could be reconciled back to Him in Heaven.  The whole benefit of the cross is OURS!!

Left on our own, we would all break Hell wide open, because not one of us (even those of us claimed, saved, and redeemed!!) can live up to the standards needed for entrance into the presence of God's glory in Heaven.  Our sin separates us from God!!  It's ONLY through the gift of grace offered through Jesus that we can be made clean and pure and righteous in the sight of our Lord, Savior, and God, and thus reconciled back to the Holy One.

What Jesus did on the cross, He did for every single soul that will accept it!!  He laid His life down for the sake of John, nearly 2000 YEARS before John ever graced this earth, and for all of us too, because of His GREAT and ABUNDANT LOVE FOR US!!  So, though John didn't get a miracle in that particular time of need, we can still have whole and complete assurance of God's love for him, just knowing the truth that the cross was set aside for John as much as it was for any one of us.  And it is for every one of us!!  All we have to do is reach out to the One who offers it freely to us and accept the GRACE that only He can pour out.

So, why do we follow Jesus?  Because Jesus loved us SO MUCH that He gave His own life for our sake, so that we could have eternal life one day in the glory of God in Heaven!

John knows this right now more than I could ever express, and he truly knows more than any of us still on this side of Heaven could ever attest, that the love of God is REAL and TRUE and everything this world has to offer us pales in comparison to what is waiting for us there.  Just cling to Jesus, and know that it will be all worth it one day.  All will be made right, and our days of suffering, sadness, and pain will not last forever.  This is why we follow!  This is what we believe!  And this is the reality that John knows in its awesome fullness today.

Romans 5:2-5(NLT)

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.   And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

John 3:16-17(NLT)

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

John 15:13(NIV)

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.