“You know, kids. Your mom and I were talking about it recently, and we agreed that even if in the end, Christianity ended up not being true, it was still worth it.”
I don’t remember how old I was when my parents told me that one morning on our way to church. I do remember the conversation, though. It’s one of those few random things that has stuck in my mind all these years later. I wasn’t sure what to think at the time. What they said made sense. After all, we had a good life and my parents were showing their gratitude for all that God had done for them. They probably also noticed that those who threw off Christianity to live for themselves were not exactly living happy, fulfilled lives.
But something seemed to be off. The tension became even stronger for me when I read 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” So, according to Paul, if Christianity isn’t true, then we are in a miserable condition. Which, of course, leads to an interesting question: who was right? Were my parents right to say that following Christ was worth it even if there was no Christ? Or as Puddleglum would put it, that we are for Narnia even if there isn’t any Narnia? Or was Paul right that if Christ is not raised that we are of all people most miserable?
To answer this question we will briefly consider a few different angles on the question. First, we will look at the message of the Old Testament, that following God leads to blessing, stability, and purpose. We will then look at the New Testament perspective that followers of Christ have their own cross to bear. Once we’ve looked at both perspectives, we will conclude by briefly answering the question.
The Wisdom Perspective
The wisdom books of Scripture teach that following God leads to the best life. Proverbs teaches that if we follow God’s plan and listen to Him, life will go well for us. Obedience tends to lead to success relationally, financially, personally; and disobedience tends to lead to disaster. But what about when disaster strikes anyway? Job comes along and teaches that the path of wisdom through times of great suffering is to trust in God. Through Job we can learn how to have a solid foundation when everything in our life seems to be caving in. Finally, Ecclesiastes teaches us that through both success and failure, it is only by obeying our Creator that our life will have lasting meaning and purpose.
If we were to combine these messages, we would see that by living a wise life, we will be successful, be ready for suffering, and have true meaning and purpose. The opposite is also true. By rejecting God and His wisdom, our lives will disintegrate in ways that lead to our suffering and the suffering of those around us. Or, to put it in Old Testament terms, obedience leads to life, rebellion leads to death.
The Cross Perspective
Yet Jesus comes along and does something unexpected. He accepts death willingly and humbly, even though He was perfectly obedient. Jesus willingly accepted the suffering and punishment of our sin, ultimately symbolized by the cross. In fact, before Jesus Himself had died, He called on His followers to take up their cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25). The New Testament would take this charge seriously and would prepare Christians for the suffering that they would endure. After all, that was the deal, wasn’t it? Jesus said if you came after Him, you should prepare to suffer. Why then wouldn’t we expect that Christians suffer?
Yet for many Christians this is not their daily experience. I would have to say that suffering is not a daily experience for me. I have a good family, a good job, a good church, and I don’t think I would trade any part of my life for what Satan or the world has to offer. So am I doing something wrong? Are we doing something wrong?
Is My Life Now Better Than If I Lived for Myself?
The simple answer to this question is “yes.” The answer is definitely yes when looking at things from the perspective of eternity. Yet even when we remove the eternal frame and instead look just at the here and now, the answer is still often yes. So how do we handle the calls to endure suffering and the expectation that we will suffer for Christ? I have three basic thoughts:
Be Thankful for God’s Gifts
First, we need to be grateful for the gifts God has given us. I don’t think it’s wrong to celebrate and be grateful for the good things our good God has graciously given us. I think what my parents told me as a kid was absolutely God-honoring, because it was a humble, grateful response to all that God had given them. I don’t think we should shy away from recognizing God’s great gifts in this world and praising God for what He has done for us.
Hold God’s Gifts Loosely
While we should be grateful, we must be careful that we don’t begin to expect that God must bless us here and now. If we aren’t careful, we can begin to expect that the current level of blessing will continue indefinitely, rather than treating it as a gift that God has the right to take back at any time. Our real payout is in the future, and we need to hold on to that mindset. I think perhaps Peter stated this best when he said, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). If God should require us to suffer for Him, we should do so with a joyful faith, because we know what comes next.
Remember to Look for the Coming Kingdom
Finally, even if we continue to reap the immediate, earthly blessings that God sends our way, we must not lose sight of eternity. Notice what the author of Hebrews said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16)
In other words, these patriarchs lived by faith and looked forward to the city that was to come. In some ways, that was easy because they didn’t belong in this world. They lived in tents and roamed around, waiting for God to fulfill His promises. Every day they were reminded that this world is not their home. When God blesses you greatly on this earth, that can be a hard perspective to maintain. Blessing often leads to complacency and apathy. The way we overcome this is by fixing our eyes on Jesus and hoping for what is to come rather than allowing ourselves to become too comfortable with what we currently have.
As Paul wrote to the ostracized and beleaguered Corinthians, ready to give up the precious doctrine of a future resurrection, he made an important observation. If there is no future beyond this life, then his audience was in a pretty sorry state. For those of us living in a world that has benefited from two thousand years of gospel witness, things might feel different. But even as Christians who have been richly blessed by God, we can never lose sight of our ultimate blessing: eternal life with God. It is eternity that will right all the wrongs we see. It is eternity when God will fully reward His faithful servants. It is eternity where we will truly find satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy. The blessings of this life should make us hungrier for eternity, rather than spoil our appetite. The good things we enjoy in this life should point us back to the fountain of all good things and should drive us to pray with the apostle John, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Ben Hicks is the Associate Pastor at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis. This article originally appeared on his Substack.
Photo by Mark Jones on Unsplash
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