Jesus is...

I am incredibly thankful and enormously blessed to be a part of a what some people call a "small group" or a "life group" or a "community group". Some might even call it a "Bible study group". In reality, all we are is bunch of young twenties who want to live life together, know Jesus better, and share him with the people around us. 

So we spend hours together - sometimes it's just a few of us around a coffee table, and sometimes it is twenty or more of us enjoying a potluck meal together. Sometimes it looks like playing games around  a campfire until late into the night, and sometimes it looks like singing Christmas carols at a retirement home. We can be silly together, but we can also get on our knees together. We talk about light hearted life, and we talk about the deepest things on our hearts. That's the beauty of the body of Christ, and I feel like I have tasted its sweetness through this group of brothers and sisters. 

We also meet together intentionally at least once a week. During these gatherings, our theme has been "Jesus is..." Each week, we take turns and let a few people share who Jesus is to them. The result has been a worshipful expression of who God is, what he has done for us, and what he is currently doing in our lives. We get to know Jesus better and each other better in the process. 

If you could only pick a few words, how would you describe him? Who is Jesus to you? 

This week, I got to share my "Jesus is", which comes from my favorite parable in Matthew 13:44. In that one verse, Jesus tells a parable about a man who finds a treasure in a field. He then sells everything he owns to buy the field. 

Can you imagine literally selling everything you own to buy a field because there was a buried treasure in it? That's either plain crazy...or it must be some treasure! And that's what Jesus is. Jesus is treasure. 

Jesus is the most valuable, most precious, most costly treasure in the whole wide world. His worth is so infinite that nothing else even comes close to comparing. As Philippians 3 says, "I consider all things a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."

All things a loss. That means my education is a loss (but thanks, Harding University). My career is a loss (but thanks, Baptist Health). My reputation is a loss. My successes and awards are a loss. Serving others is a loss. Going to church can be a loss. Even my relationships are a loss. I must even say that going to Africa is a loss. Of course all these things are wonderful, but apart from Christ, they mean nothing. For Jesus is the treasure of greatest price. He is the treasure of my heart.

Because of Jesus' infinite worth and value, he is also infinitely worthy. He is worthy of selling everything we own to get a hold of him. He is worth giving up possessions, careers, relationships, reputation and social status, and comfort. If only to have Christ, we need nothing else. 

I love what the Moravian missionaries said about the worthiness of Jesus. They sold themselves into slavery in the 1730s in order to bring the gospel to the nations where his name had not yet been heard. They packed their belongings in their coffins, boarded ships across the ocean, and yelled from the dock, "Worthy is the Lamb to receive the reward of his sufferings."

Jesus endured such cruelty, such humiliation, and such shame for us on the cross. His body was torn and his blood poured out for us. He deserves to receive the reward of his sufferings, and that reward is the praise of the nations. May Jesus receive worship and adoration from every tongue, every tribe, and every people! He deserves it; he is worthy! 

He is the treasure of greatest price, and finding him will make you want to sell everything you own just to have all of him. Because he is the treasure of infinite worth, he is also infinitely worthy. He is worthy to receive praise from every breath we take and from every nation in the world. That's my Jesus, our Jesus.