get it. got it. good?

I remember sitting in my comfortable chair in the comfortable air conditioning.  It was a few years ago and my pastor, Dr. David Platt was speaking at an event that my church holds a few times a year called Secret Church.  As
I learned about churches in closed countries, how some people risk
everything in order to follow Jesus, that people gather and study the
word for hours upon hours with fellow believers because they don’t know
when the next opportunity will be… as I learned of this secret church
that exists, I pondered on what that would feel like.  I sat there,
daydreaming of what it must be like to risk it all… everything… for
Christ… what it must feel like to study the word together, regardless
of harsh consequences.   I began praying for believers all over the
world that were living in places that do not accept the gospel. 

I thought I got it. 

I thought I understood.

 

A couple of weeks ago, we were told we would be taking a trip to Laos, where we would were invited to attend church. 

Wait,
isn’t it a closed country?  Can’t you like get arrested or something
for preaching the gospel? Why on earth are we setting ourselves up
here?

But after coming to terms with the fact that we were
actually going through with this, I found myself feeling honored… privileged to be a part of something that we as Americans [often] only hear
about… privileged to be able to proclaim God’s goodness amongst
believers in a land that hushes His great name.  

So, three years later… half way across the world… in a church that looked much
different than my own, I was encouraged.  I was encouraged as I looked
around and saw the faces of people that know Christ is worth it. 
Worth it all.  Worth going against everything they are told to
believe.  Worth risking your life for.  Worth risking your families’
lives for.  Truth be told, I had to be reminded of that. Before leaving
the church, I wanted to speak with the pastor about all he had reminded
of.  He agreed that Christ is worth it all,
and in fact 2 of his friends had lost their lives because of
proclaiming the gospel.  As he asked for me to continue to pray for
protection for them…

that is when I got it. 

that is when I understood. 

Christ
is worth it.  I have never known that statement to be more true.  What
is it that is holding you back?  Because trust me, He is worth it.  I
know an entire body of believers that will vouch for that.