The Cost of the Gospel

by Holly Gordon

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” –Philippians 3:7-8

For the past several years as I have grown deeper in my relationship with Jesus, a prayer that has been on my heart that I truly want to live out is: “Jesus, I want to do anything that You want me to do. I will do whatever brings You the most glory.” I recognize this is a dangerous prayer because Jesus will lead you to uncomfortable situations, but the result of this is knowing even more how worthy Jesus is!

Recently, I had the honor to go on a mission to the Philippines with my best friends and a group from the church they grew up in. During a portion of our time there, we were on the island of Mindanao partnering with the pastors established in several of the villages there. We spent our time traveling from village to village providing medical care, sharing the Gospel and testimonies, and loving on the children and families there. During one particular day we had to hike seven hours to reach one village! We hiked under the hot sun through mud and rivers to reach our destination. To be honest, this was the hardest hike I’ve ever done.

Our time in that particular village was one of my highlights from the trip because this village hadn’t had anyone to provide medical care in four years. No one wanted to or was able to make the journey on foot to see them. Praise God that He used our group to provide medical care, to share the Gospel, and to show His love to the children and families present that day!

During that day Jesus was continually speaking to me about the cost of the Gospel and showing me a glimpse of what that looks like. For us that meant sleeping on the concrete, not showering, and hiking miles and miles to reach people. These are simple things that we take for granted. During our time in that village we were witnesses of Jesus. Individuals accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and received His love. That is worth it all, because Jesus is so worthy!! Even though getting to this village was difficult and uncomfortable, I would do it all over again and again! Forsaking a comfortable bed and showers sounds so simple, but knowing the kindness of Jesus I believe He was testing my heart to see how far I would go to obey Him.

My encouragement to you is this: stay available to the plans that Jesus has over your life. Release the control that you are holding onto and surrender to Jesus in however He wants to use your “yes” for His glory. He will lead you into uncomfortable situations, but you will know Him in a deeper way and see just how worthy He is!

Dear Jesus, I pray that You would give us the eyes to see others and Your heart to love our neighbors well. I pray that You would give us a deeper hunger to know You better and that we would joyfully surrender our fear of the future or desire to want to control our lives. You have our yes, Jesus! Use us in ways that bring You the most glory. In Jesus name, Amen!