It Is WORTH IT!

August 9, 2019

You won’t regret it. No one who has sacrificed his home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children--whatever—will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life! Luke 18:29-30

Have you ever thought about who you can talk to in heaven? Who you might interview and get their stories? Of course, Jesus first, and then your family and friends. Think with me a minute. Let’s check in with a few, and you imagine the answers:

“Moses, do you regret giving up Egypt, your cushy life there, and your shot at being the next Pharaoh?”

“Peter, do you have any second thoughts about leaving your comfortable fishing business and following an itinerant preacher?”

“Paul, remember the criticism you endured from former friends who thought you were stupid when you gave up your status and reputation as a leader in the Jewish faith to follow Jesus? Was it worth all the beatings, stonings, pain, imprisonment, shipwreck, and eventual death?”

I could make a list all day. But there’s a 20th century man who gave up a promising future here to serve unknown tribes in Ecuador. They were SO unknown that white people frightened them, and in 1957 as he tried to share, he was speared to death. But shortly before he died, he gave us a pre-emptive answer to the question: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott’s Jesus-style perspective multiplied more than he could imagine. That tribe, the whole area in Ecuador, is now full of thriving Christians. The very man who killed him came to know Christ. Thousands gave their lives to missions and Christian service as a result of Jim’s testimony and courageous action. Thousands more became followers of Jesus Christ. Jim’s answer today? I know he would say, “Worth it? Oh, so much more than that! I got all this, and the bonus is eternal life!”

• Romans 11:35 says, “God will be no man’s debtor.” You will never out-give God. You will never make a sacrifice that He will not more than repay.
• God doesn’t always pay back in kind, but He always pays back abundantly.
• Talk to God about leaving your comfort zone and taking the risk. What does that mean right now for you? Believe it. There will be a day when you calculate it up, and you will see that it was the wisest, most worthwhile investment you could have made.