When Jesus is all there is.

Life can pack a punch. Life can get tough. People fail, miserably, and will always disappoint. I know that I fall into that category so often. These types of bumps in our lives are just that, bumps that come along that we can deal with, one at a time. But every once in a while, these bumps turn into mountains that all close in on us at once! I have hit that point in my life.

Some handle this with unwise decisions and reactions. Some people just wall up, close up, and get destroyed from cutting themselves from any lifeline that might exist. I have done both of those things at times. But what do we do, if we claim to be Jesus followers? How do we respond to life when we feel like this?

I remember when this time in my life started. I got a job as a Youth Pastor to High School in Colorado. We were excited. The church seemed like a good church, the people seemed awesome, it was closer to my family, who lived in CO. The situation went from good to bad very quickly. I realized almost immediately upon starting my new and exciting job that it was not what everyone I interviewed with said it was. Problem after problem built up from students having a hard time connecting with me, to coworkers lying to and about other staff. In fact this person was a superior. This person spent time dismantling me to his superiors to look better. This person did not want anyone to see "the real him/her". It started like this because of some issues me and another pastor wanted bring to him and resolve. This person just couldn't take both the criticism or the possible way people would look at him/her upon finding out about these issues. All of this built up to me sitting in front of an elder handing me a severance check. I was being fired. No one asked me my side of the story or tried to figure out what happened. In fact, about 6 months earlier, an elder told me I had to submit and he didn't care what the superior had done or was doing. At that point it sounded more like a business than a church.

My dad always told me work hard, do your job, and you will be rewarded, not punished. Because of that I felt utterly ruined, lik a failure. And the issues did not stop there. My character was being defamed by this superior all over town, from talking to my former leadership team, to talking to other youth pastors. I felt, by the end of this awful experience, that I had been dragged through a muddy valley full of sticks, logs, tree roots, and rocks that were destroying my body as I was dragged.

I recently came across this quote from Thomas Kemper, out of his book "The Imitation of Christ" on John 14:6: ‎"Follow thou me. I am the way and the truth and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou must follow; the truth which thou must believe; the life which thou must hope. I am the inviolable way; the infallible truth, the never-ending life. I am the straightest way; the sovereign truth; life true, life blessed, life uncreated." 

I realized, and still trying to rest in the fact that the one dragging me was Jesus. When I read this quote about John 14:6, it really floored me. If every single ting in life was stripped away from me and I was left bare before God, would I be satisfied in him? Would I remember quotes like this and remember that no matter what this life throws at me, Jesus way is unbreakable, his truth is incapable of any error, and his life is the never-ending true life that I hope in?

I have had the privilege over the past several months to live life with young adults, between the ages of 18-30. And together, with my wife, interacting with these people we have discovered that Jesus is all there is, He is all that we have to tangibly rely upon. Amongst these people in bible study and worship, as we have come together as a group of people connected to Christ's church, is the real and raw emotion that has resonated in my family for the last five years, which is "Jesus, your grace is the only thing left, you salvation brings me life, and your mercies are new every morning." Living this out is hard, but it is reality. All we have, and all we need is Jesus, who is the straightest way, the sovereign truth; life true, life blessed, and life uncreated.

I encourage you to look to Christ, whether life is going well or giving you fits. When Jesus is proclaiming this to his disciples, there were lots of "paths" to God, but his was the only and true way to God. We are offered al sorts of promises like this in our lives. Money offers this, "if you make money, you will have comfort." Friends offer this, "if you have friends, you will be satisfied". Jobs offer this, "If you have a job, you will have purpose and security". Religions offer this, "If you believe this, you can be the god of your own life, no one can tell you what to do or how to live.". We are invaded with the counter attack to this truth about Jesus every day. But the truth is that every single one of those promises leave us wanting, hopelessly stuck in our death and darkness.

I can tell you from experience that following Jesus, especially when it feels as though He is all that is left, is hard. You will face opposition, you will face temptation, and you will face your constant failures. Do not let those difficulties dictate you attitude or your worth in God's eyes. He has lavished his grace upon us without condition. In fact, life becomes an amazing adventure and fulfilling when we realize something: Regardless of what I possess or do not possess, JESUS IS ALL THERE IS. Paul famously state in Philippians 1: 21 "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Paul's attitude in this passage was to proclaim that regardless of the opposition, the Gospel is being preached in his suffering, and death would be a gain.

We, as Christ-followers, belong to Him. May we live life with Paul's mindset, that in this life, Jesus is all there is and to live is Christ. When I read quotes like the one I have shared, and read what is happening to Paul when he writes the letter to the Philippians, I am encouraged. Although life has me bruised, bloodied, and beaten, sometimes beyond recognition, I look up and see Jesus holding onto me tightly, as if never to let go. And I look back to my wounds and remember that this lowly body is not my identity, Jesus is my identity. Be encouraged, friends, that today no matter where you are at or what you are feeling, that Christ has taken our pain and made us new, adopted us into His glorious family.