Worth dying for

What a beautiful morning drive it was as I headed to church on this cool crisp fall morning. The leaves in full turn, the colors so bright with the trees standing still. I was thinking about this topic yesterday as I was severely bored out of my mind, the topic kind of goes along with what I was talking about in my last.

I know this might not be the most pleasant topic, but the truth is that we need to look at is this: Is what we are living for worth dying for ? Is the gospel worth dying for ? Is Christ worth dying for ? This is something that I want to talk about more because the truth is that I hadn't thought much about this topic at all before this summer. As I read through Radical this summer with my mentor I came to realize that was the gospel worth living for? Was Christ really worth dying ? The decision came pretty quick for me with the answer a resounding "YES."

It was easy for me simply put and I'll explain it as best I can. By now most of you know that I served in the military and was in Iraq where there I almost died a couple of times. The more I thought about the topic "Is the Gospel worth dying for ?", the more I realized the answer in my heart. I'll explain it like this at the age of 19 I signed a piece of paper saying that I would serve my country and if necessary I would give my life in service to her. If I was willing to die for my country something that I truly love and believe in then was I willing to die for the Gospel the question came out as.

By the time I was 23 I had experienced more then some people will in their entire lives who live in our great country. I had lost a friend, experienced first hand what an I.E.D. (improvised explosive device) can do to a person, and by the time I came home the amount of change that had happened was huge. I was in 2009 that I realized that I had been living for myself and I just wasn't going to have any of it anymore.  By 2010 I had been attending Anchor Point for about 6 months or so and that when I really realized that there was way more to life then what I was living for. This is when I really saw God working in my life, I began a transformation that I wasn't really sure was possible. Then this summer I read Radical which opened me up more and to the concept that I needed to understand that if I was so willing to die for my country then the Gospel and Christ were worth dying for. The truth that I grabbed on to was that this isn't just life changing, it's eternal changing which means it has an impact of epic proportions in a sense it changes a persons stars. The hard thing for me is that I'm a soldier, a protector through and through which means it's hard for me to surrender. Which means if God asked me to lay down my life and be that martyr, I would struggle with that because I don't like going down without a fight. I know this is God's fight, not mine, but the truth is that I would rather go down swinging then on my knees. I sure hope he understands that and I'm sure he does. Yeah I know sad and depressing ending right, but it's the truth that we need to come to realize and understand.

So what is the Gospel worth to you ? Is Christ really worth it ? I have my answers, but now I challenge you to look at your heart and ask the questions to you. I have my answers and I can't answer any bodies questions. We all have to ask ourselves and look at our own heart and ask the tough questions. It's a heart check to see where we really are. Truth is that there are few of us that God may ask to lay down our life for the cause of the Gospel.

© Nathan Fahlin