And then there's everyone else. Since the beginning of time, it's estimated that more than 8 billion people have made a decision to follow Christ. Since 1934, the number of Christians increased by 1300 percent while the world’s population grew only 400 percent. Forsaking all, they have given up worldly pleasure, progress and modernism. Did they miss out too? There are currently around 3.7 million churches around the world. They meet in schools, big cathedrals, strip malls, suburban campuses, and city parks. Multiply that number by the services last week. Sermons prepared. Songs sung. Bulletins printed. Nurseries staffed. Are we wasting real estate, time and effort?
Worldwide, there a 320,000 full-time Christian workers in the mission field. We have another 5.4 million full-time Christian workers at home. Are we wasting resources?
The current budget of all Christian ministries tops $163 billion a year. The total cost of outreach averages $330,000 for each and every newly baptized person. Are we wasting money?
Approximately 83 million Bibles are distributed globally per year. There are six million books about Christianity in print today. Are we wasting paper and trees?
Ever since the first century, Christians have been martyred for their faith. Some estimate more than 70 million have been killed for the sake of their belief in Christ. And in this supposedly enlightened age of tolerance, more than 100 million Christians around the globe are currently suffering persecution and 170,000 are killed each year. Are we wasting precious life?
Jesus himself was a man of great attraction and persuasive power. He could have thrown the Romans out of Israel, ruled with peace and given the Jews back their land. Instead, he ended up tacked to a crude piece of wood. Was his time on earth wasted?
The Apostle Paul even suggested that all of this was futile, and that "we, of all people, would be pitied."
"If," he says, "Christ were not raised from the dead." But he was and that changes everything. That's my one good reason.
Every life. Every sermon. Every book. Every dollar. Every prayer. Every moment.
It’s worth it.
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Great post. I've been thinking so much, lately, that Satan's greatest victory over us almost always has to do with our misconception of what's important. At the end of the day, nothing at all matters but love. And God is love.
I love this, and you're so right. The world likes to tell us that our efforts are fruitless, but just this past week God answered prayer in a powerful way that convinces me we're on the right track! :) Nothing in this world brings me as much peace of mind as talking with Him and striving to stay with Him. Makes me want to ask folk "Is my SANITY worthless??" lol
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