Why bother with Jesus when I’ve got it made?

Krisan Marotta: Good morning, this is Krisan Marotta welcoming you to Wednesday in the Word, my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Today we'll be listening to a talk given by Professor Kim Elzinger called Why Bother with Jesus When I've Got It Made? You can find more talks by Professor Elzinger on my website. Just go to wednesdayintheword.com slash Ken A E N Elzinger E-L Z I N D A. Thanks so much for listening. Ken Elzinga: Just so everybody's clear on the concept, this is not Econ 201. Okay, if it were, I'd be over there instead of here. There's no uh cost curves today, no clicker questions, no head TA, or anything like that. But it is a pleasure to be in Econ 201 in in this classroom or auditorium in a very different format. Uh before I start, I'd like to be sure and thank Dane and a whole group of people with Agape who have worked hard to make this event uh possible. And also thank you for attending this evening, especially those of you who are crowded in and uh don't have the comfort of a cushioned chair but are sitting on hard floors, okay? I have been asked, as Dane mentioned, to respond to the question, why do we need God if we've got it made? And I want to address that question head on. So imagine a UVA student, maybe second year, who's in my Econ 201 class, and this student knows that I'm a follower of Jesus and comes to my office one Tuesday afternoon after class, and as some students at UVA are prone to do, this student is very candid and honest in saying, why would I need Jesus Christ? And before I can respond, the student goes on to say, look, I'm in good health. I have a great sex life. I love being at the University of Virginia. I have all the friends I can handle. I'm doing well in school. My parents are paying for my education. Not only that, I have the prospect of a great job when I graduate. And becoming a Christian, as I understand it, will mean I'll have to do things like pray and go to church and read a Bible. And it'll change my sex life. And I'll have to hang around with people that I really don't like that much. And it probably means I'll have to give away some of my income rather than spend it on myself or my friends, which I'd rather do. Now, do you know any students who would say or think this? I can certainly understand why Christians might have these thoughts. And in fact, if you're not a follower of Jesus, let me tell you something. A lot of Christians have these same thoughts and concerns. So if you've had these thoughts, it shows that you've got some understanding of the Christian faith. Because it's true that if you follow Jesus, it probably will affect your prayer life, probably will affect your sex life, probably will affect how you spend your time and how you spend your money, and maybe even the job you take after you graduate. So let me tell you my initial reaction to the question: why would we need God if we've got it made? I've been teaching at UVA now for many years. I have taught some of the most talented students at Mr. Jefferson's University, students who have become road scholars, an Olympic gold medalist, federal judges, a governor, a senator, professional athletes, multimillionaires, a movie star, a movie producer, people who've started their own firms. And you know what? There are very few people who have it all together, if any. And in that sense, I have to wonder if the question that I've been asked to address makes sense. Students at UVA that I get to know have enormous freedom and they relish the freedom. But there's one freedom the culture of Mr. Jefferson's University really does not tolerate very much, and that's the freedom to fail, to be a loser. And so, in the midst of students seeming to have it all, I meet students who live with a fear of failure. In addition to building a resume that's lengthy and impressive, and some of you have incredibly long and impressive resumes, one item that never gets listed, I've never seen it on a resume, is I live in fear of failure. So let me address the students at UVA first, who do not quite have it all together, even though they work very hard to put forward the image that they do. But inside, they mask insecurities that frankly would surprise even their friends and family members. Let me suggest that these people have what Pascal called a God-shaped vacuum in their lives. It's a vacuum that only God can fill. Because I believe we're created that way, for God to fill that vacuum. So why do we need God? For the student who has it all, including the fear of failure, the Christian gospel offers freedom from that fear. Because the Christian gospel claims that you are valuable apart from all the line items on your resume. Apart from your job, your GPA, your income, your family pedigree, you are of value simply because you're made in God's image. Now there are a lot of philosophies and narratives that give accounts of our origins and what our destiny is. And the fear of failure belongs in a lot of those theories and perspectives, but it has no place in the Christian story. According to the Christian gospel, God loves you. Period. That's the end of the sentence. Succeed or fail, rich or poor, famous or unheard of, you are made in his image and he loves you. God loves you more than you can imagine. He also loves you more than you deserve. So why do we need God? Because your present life has meaning far beyond what you do here at UVA and having it made. Actually, according to the Christian faith, you are made to have a personal relationship with Jesus through his Spirit dwelling in you. Your daily life is not just you and the identity that you shape for yourself. Your daily life is meant to be lived in a relationship with God, who is sovereign over all human history, and believe it or not, wants to be sovereign over your own story. So why do we need God? So your life's story can become anchored in history. And that's the history of God entering life in the person of Jesus in order to bless and redeem those who turn to Him. Contrary to the materialist view of human beings, which is very persuasive at this university, you are not a random Darwinian coagulation of atoms floating through a meaningless universe. You're not. The Christian gospel teaches that you are a pearl of great price. And your life is tied to God's work in history, which is calling people to himself. So why do we need God? So your life has a future. Jesus has promised that he will never leave or forsake his people. And he says he's going to bring them into eternal life with him in a place where there's no longer going to be any tears, there won't be any rape, there won't be any murder, there won't be any racial discrimination, no war, and no more death. So why do we need God? So you can become part of a community of people who follow him. And what's this community like if you don't know? It's a group that's honest about our brokenness and our need for help. We tell the truth to God and each other about our strengths and our weaknesses. We celebrate and we have fun and we serve and we mourn losses and hurts and we love and we hope. All of it together. This is what happens if you become a follower of Jesus. And this all happens not because followers of Jesus deserve this, not at all, but because, according to the most familiar verse in the Bible, God loved the world so much that he sent his son Jesus. That whosoever believes on him will have eternal life. Now let me address students at UVA who have it all together. They don't carry even a fear of failure. They're happy with their life. They're not shadowed by insecurity or doubt. They're bullish about their future, and they wonder why on earth should I put my faith in Jesus Christ? For whatever reason, these people don't sense a God-shaped vacuum in their lives. They really do believe they have it all together, and they ask the question, why would we need God if we've got it made? I don't know if you've ever heard the poem Invictus. Invictus is the poem of the have it all together. It's written, it was written at the peak of the Enlightenment when many people thought they had replaced God with human reason. Also before there were two world wars and a worldwide economic depression and nuclear terror and cold war and genocide on several continents. Let me read just a portion of this poem. Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I'm the master of my fate. I'm the captain of my soul. I'm the master of my fate, I'm the captain of my soul. Invictus is the mantra of the superachievers. This is the poem for the elite high flyers who think gravity will never ground them and the sun will never melt their wings. Now let me tell you my major reservation with the question: why do I need God if I've got it made? If so far you have it all together, if so far you have it made, all I can say is wait. My wife and I lived in Pavilion 4 on the East Lawn for ten years. This was a remarkable experience in many ways. About midway through this time, one of the most talented and popular students on the lawn, one night, committed suicide in his lawn room. Many students were stunned at this university. How could this be? I was not that stunned. Surprised, but not stunned, deeply saddened, but not stunned. Because I doubted that very many students, even talented lawnies, could have it all together. The speculation was that this student was upset because he had recently been turned down to be a Rhodes Scholar. The speculation was that this was the first time he had ever failed at getting what he wanted. He almost had it all, but one thing eluded his grasp. The speculation was he killed himself because he couldn't have it all. So life was no longer meaningful. For now, you may have it made, but eventually for everyone, life has joys and life has tragedies. And let me speak to this personally, if I may. I think that I've got one of the best jobs in the world. I make more money than I ever expected that I would. I travel more than I thought I would. I'm blessed with great health. But when I was a young man, my wife died of cancer. She was only 33. And at that time, for months thereafter, my life was one of many storms with great turbulence. But I had an anchor. Jesus Christ provided that anchor. You see, my first wife had to put her faith in Jesus, and Jesus promised her eternal life. And he promised her a place where there would be no more pain from the cancer, and where tears were going to be wiped away, and where she would be in the presence of her Lord. And Jesus promised that he wouldn't forsake me either. Now, you may think I'm speaking about some kind of trite way about looking at death, but I am talking about a lot more here. I'm talking about a God who held my hand and led me through the toughest time in my life. So how do you draw meaning or comfort out of death? For followers of Jesus, there's comfort in the promises found in God's Word. The Apostle Paul, in words that I simply locked on to, said to Christians, We sorrow, but not as those who have no hope. We sorrow, we hurt, we have pain, but not as those who have no hope. Maybe you'll go through life without the death of a spouse. I hope so. Maybe you'll go through life without the loss of a job. I hope so. Maybe you'll go through life without a divorce. Maybe you'll go through life without any health problems. Maybe you'll go through life never facing a major disappointment. Maybe you'll go through life without ever having a family member or a friend betray you. Maybe you'll go through life without a major accident. Maybe you'll go through life without a major failure. I hope all these for students at UVA. But the odds are, even if you've escaped all this so far, you won't forever. And frankly, I suspect most of you in the chemistry auditorium, even at your age, already have faced at least one major trial or crushing blow. And so the question for most of you is, what do you do then? You need some kind of anchor. Some of you will find solace in stoicism. That's a very prevailing philosophy at the university, even if students don't know the name of it. It's a just suck it up type of philosophy and move on. Some of you will find comfort in alcohol or drugs. Some UVA students become absorbed in a career. I believe these are not really sources of comfort. They're diversions from the kind of comfort that God wants to offer His people. As for now, before these things have taken place in your life, why bother about God? Here are three reasons. First, all the good fortune, good health, good friends, good looks that you might have won't make you acceptable to God. God does not design you to live with you at the center. In fact, if you're the kind of person who savors your accomplishments, who thinks this is really who I am, that's a form of pride. And the Bible has something to say about pride. It counsels against it big time. It says, pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. To be really candid, pride and self-centeredness, which is very much a part of the culture of this university, is detestable to God who wants us to worship Him and not worship ourselves. There's a scholar named David Wells who wrote a very penetrating book called God in the Wasteland. And he explores the consequences of living a life with yourself at the center. And here's what he claimed The modern self has experienced the exhilaration, note the word here, the exhilaration of the complete freedom to choose a destiny without reference to God, without a thought to what is ultimately right, or for that matter, what anyone else may think, or how they might be affected. In most quarters, however, this brief exhilaration is passed. And a weariness of soul has set in as the self creaks beneath the weight of all the functions it's now being called upon to serve. Wells' point the human soul is not designed to bear the burden of transcendence. God alone can bear it, and he alone is worthy of our worship. So if you displace God and enthrone yourself at the center, you will find yourself hard put to live up with the demands. Indeed, people who think they don't need God, according to the Bible, are defined as a fool. Do you know that? That's how the Bible defines a fool. The Bible says, the fool says in his heart, there is no God. So a person who says there is no God or who acts as though there is no God is not really an intellectual, but is being foolish. Now here's the second reason even the person who has it made needs God. We are, in a very fundamental way, designed for worship. And if I could just say as an aside, the way I'm wired, my family background, I think if it were not for worship, I would not know what the meaning of the word joy meant. I would know fun, I'd know laughter, I had no humor. I don't think I would know joy. You and I are gonna worship something or someone. It might be yourself, it might be nature, it could be a political movement, might be a spouse or a girlfriend or a boyfriend. A singer that some of you might have heard of, very popular in the 60s, Bob Dylan had a song, You've got to serve somebody. And the God who created you wants you to worship him, to obey him, to love him. In fact, we're commanded to do so. The Bible says we're not to have any other gods before him. It is, if I can be candid, the height of hubris to drink in life and never give thanks to God, if only for giving you the gift of life. Now here's the third reason why a person who has it all made still needs God. And the reason is linked to what in Tuesday and Thursday, mornings and afternoons in econ lingo, I refer to as the long run. The question, why would we need God when we've got it made is a short run question. You may not realize that the blessings in your life are really blessings from the realm of glory, but they are. And someday, later, if not sooner, you'll recognize this. Everybody in this room will. The Bible says that when Jesus comes back, as he promised he would, every knee will bow. Now, if that's true, that is a remarkable and amazing statement. Jesus promised to return, and when he comes back, he will not be like a baby in a manger. He will return to this earth in such majesty that even hardened criminals are going to bow down before him. People who invoked his name only as a curse word will find themselves bowing. And so will self-centered, successful people, like many of us in this room. That day when people from every tribe and nation bow to Jesus is really remarkable to consider because it means that some people, people who elected to follow Jesus, are going to bow down in rejoicing because God is drawing human history to a close. Others are going to bow down in fear and trembling. And these will be the people who are self-contained, have it all together, and they're going to be stunned to learn that they needed Jesus as their Savior, just like all the uncool, needy people who didn't have it made. So fundamentally, Jesus is not about your jobs, not about your sex life, not about your GPA, not about your happiness. He's concerned with these things. Nothing about you escapes his attention. But what he's really about is taking people who are sinners and presenting them righteous before God. Fifty years ago, there was a man by the name of Jim Elliott who left behind his family, his friends, and his career to take the Christian gospel to the Alca tribe in Ecuador. And he and his missionaries, partners, landed a little plane in the jungle, and that very day they were murdered by the Alkas. And later his journal was found, and in it, Jim Elliot had written, He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. He's no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. The Christian gospel claims that you and I are terribly flawed because of sin and rebellion in our life. But the Christian gospel then claims that we are nonetheless so loved by God that he sent his son Jesus as a means of taking away that sin. As is often said in my church, your sins and mine are worse than we think, but we're loved by God more than we can imagine. And that's why the Apostle Paul could write these words the saying is true and worthy of complete acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. There are lots of things that teachers at UVA, like myself, teach you that we think are true. I happen to think it's true that demand curves slope downward and to the right. But that is not a truth worthy of complete acceptance. That Jesus came into the world to save sinners is such a truth. And that's why the Apostle Paul could look at all his credentials, all the items that made up his Astonishingly impressive resume, his family pedigree, his educational attainments, his membership in the religious elite, his papers as a citizen of the Roman Empire. All this, he said, pales in comparison to the riches of knowing Christ. And that, gentle students, is why I commend the Lord Jesus, who came to earth the first time to suffer and die for your sins and for mine, and who will come the second time in glory and judgment, even for those who think they have it made without him. Tuesday mornings, I'm in a small group with some students, and I told them about this talk. And you know what one of them told me? His name is Jim Broiles. This is what he said. I'm quoting. Who are we kidding? There's not one person I can think of who would agree that he has it all together, including yourself, Mr. Elsinga, which is why Agape asked you to give this talk. Jim Broil knows me pretty well. He knows I certainly do not have it all together. And then he went on to say, everyone has seen a movie or consciously thought, I would love for my relationship with my parents to be like that. Or I wish someone would love me like that. Everyone, no matter how much they've accomplished, envied something that his neighbor has. This cannot be refuted at UVA, where so many people are so talented in so many ways, everyone is special and everyone wants someone else's specialty. Whether the busy person envies the person who spends a lot of time with friends, the person with closer friends envies the person with the better resume and job opportunities. Every girl wishing she were as pretty as so-and-so, the fraternity man who is always trying to play his cards right so that everyone will love him. You see, this is where this is leading. We are never completely fulfilled. And then Jim added, and he put it better than I could, Christ is the perfect image of intimacy and love. He knows us intimately, he loves us dearly. Every one of you. And he seeks to know each of you, not because you have it made, but because you were made for a relationship with Him. Krisan Marotta: Thank you for listening to Wednesday in the Word, the podcast that explains not only what a passage means, but teaches you how to figure it out. I hope this podcast has blessed you. If it's inspired you to learn more, I invite you to visit my website. You'll find hundreds of Bible studies and free materials there. There's no ads, no spam. It's only Bible study. And if you don't know what to listen to, you might want to start with the series called What is the Gospel? Our theme music is graciously provided by Reggie Coates. You can find more of his music on heartfeltmusic.org. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I hope I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.