Infinitely Important

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.  C.S. Lewis

I cannot get this quote out of my mind.  It just looms in the back of my brain, and I find myself listening to its quiet truth at random times throughout the day.  I know so many people who think that Christianity is moderately important.  That it is nice to have the Christian values, that Jesus was a good moral teacher, that the mention of His name or teachings enhances their life in this way or that.  They just kind of treat the idea of Jesus as a passing thought. 

I think the truth of this quote has had a haunting effect on me, probably because I used to be this person thriving on the moderation of Jesus in my life.  I thought that if I went to church most Sundays or tried to be a good person, and claimed to be a Christian, that my life could benefit from that…right?  Here is the thing.  When I tried to be a “good” person, I found myself making selfish decisions still.  When I went to church I found myself sitting numbly and tuning out the message.  Now, what is beneficial about that?  What is life-giving about that?  Jesus cannot be a small addition to this life I think that I own.  It’s just not who He is.  I don’t own my life, and the One who does wants all of me.  He doesn’t half love me.  He loves me insurmountably.  And you cannot ignore that love.     

I think about our calendar, and how we are living in A.D.  Our whole calendar for this life is centered on the person of Jesus.  I think about all the witnesses to His death and resurrection.  I think of His apostles who were martyred for their unwavering belief that Jesus is Lord.  Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.  He physically healed people, cast out demons, and forgave people of their sins, healing their hearts.  He has authority over the physical world and over the spiritual world.  All of this is documented by multiple people, and the very people who were closest to Jesus died for their unwavering belief in His truth.   

What He said about Himself was either true or false.  Either he was a crazy liar, or he was telling the truth.  There is no sugar coated in-between.  There is no happy medium.  There is nothing semi-important about what He said.  You can’t simply think that Jesus was a good moral teacher and leave it at that.  He tells people to leave EVERYTHING and follow Him.  Everything.  Jobs, friends, family, comfortable and familiar living.  He doesn’t tell people 'oh hey, listen to what I teach but only apply it sometimes,' or 'you can get by without me if you think your way is better.' 

My church has been walking through the book of Luke doing a series called ‘Who was this Man?’  I know that the Lord has led me to this church to hear this teaching of His word.  Each and every time I am left asking myself hard questions.  Asking myself if my life reflects my belief in Jesus as my Savior, as my everything, as the ONLY thing that is important.  I don’t want to sit on the side lines so to speak, I want to run the race towards Jesus.  I have to ask myself if I truly believe in what He says, what He teaches, and what He did for me.  If I believe that is true, it requires a response in my life and in my heart.  I could reject it… or, I can let it fill the aches of this life, let it complete my soul where something so big was missing, let His sacrifice define me.  When you let Jesus into your heart, into the deepest, darkest parts of your soul, when you trust Him to be the very thing that sustains you, there is nothing like it.  He wants all of me.  He is jealous for me.  Not just part of my life.  He doesn’t want to be an addition to the life I already have planned out.  He wants me to surrender all of my plans and all of my burdens to Him.   I don’t know what each day will bring me.  But if I know that my God loves me, that no matter what He will uphold me and protect me, my heart is at peace.  

I’ve realized that I wasn’t living, until I came to know the grace of my Father, His unshakable, unfailing love.  I just can’t get over it.  His love will NEVER fail me.  Never.  It goes against everything that I’ve learned in this world.  I have put a lot of my hope in relationships - boyfriends, friendships, family, my husband.  But all of these people are human.  And therefore, it is impossible for them to give me what I need if I put all of my trust or hope in them.  I have learned time and time again, painfully and bitterly at times, that none of them can ease this ache in my heart.  The whole time, the Lord was quietly whispering, I am all you need.  Give me your heart and I will show you a love that you have never known.  I was never truly living when I tried to hide from the Lord, cover up my sin, think that I could find the satisfaction I was searching for on my own terms.  Only until the truth of Jesus wore down my soul, only when I cried out for God to step in and save me, did I finally surrender and begin this beautiful romance.  I don’t ever want to turn back. 

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Don’t miss this: Jesus is infinitely important.  You do not want to overlook His joy and faithfulness in this life.  And He is our only hope in the life to come.