But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things… I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death... – Philippians 3:7-10

There’s something admirable about a person with tunnel vision.

​

A one-track mind.

​

Mark Zuckerberg spent countless sleepless nights alone in his dorm room writing lines of computer code. The result was a website that linked people on every continent and redefined social interaction for an entire generation. When asked why he created Facebook, he simply replied that he liked “building things.”

​

Such people are driven to madness by a vision. A vision of how something ought to be. Of how something ought not to be.

​

This vision wakes them up in the morning. It keeps them up at night. It compels them to work when everyone else is out having fun. It causes them to forsake free time, meals and sleep in order to bring their vision to reality.

​

It causes the basketball player to stay on the court, taking free throws, hours after everyone else went home.

​

It causes the guitarist to practice his scales on an unplugged instrument, dreaming that one day everyone will be able to hear the music he hears in his mind.

​

It causes the college student to spend her nights in the library, reading books on Organic Chemistry or deciphering the words of Kant, in pursuit of a passion that those around her can neither understand or reciprocate.

​

These people had a moment in their lives, a breaking point if you will, where they decided that the vision in their mind was worth it. Worth all of it. Worth suffering for and if need be, laying down their lives for.

​

-

​

The Apostle Paul, once a champion of the Jewish law and zealous persecutor of the Church, proudly declares that he regards his past acclaim and accomplishments as rubbish in comparison to the newfound object of his desire.

What was his greatest desire? What was his life’s vision? To evangelize the nations? To build thousands of churches? To initiate a world changing revival?

​

It was to know Christ. At any cost.

​

One moment with Jesus and he was willing to pay any price. He was willing to endure any hardship. He gladly took persecution, false accusation, countless misunderstandings, slander, beatings, and imprisonment. He was willing to go anywhere and do anything. He was so madly in love with Jesus that Jesus himself became the reason for all that he did.

​

Ever since his conversion, all he did was talk about Jesus. When they put him in prison, he told all his fellow inmates about Jesus. When they put him in solitary confinement, he wrote letters to other people about Jesus. When they threatened to kill him, he was excited that he would get to see Jesus.

​

If my goal is to be the best in my field, there will come a day when I might be on top. If my goal is to have the most possessions, there will come a day when I have all that I need (and more). But if my all-consuming passion is to love a person, it is a lifelong commitment to reach the bottom of a bottomless soul. It is to admit to your love that I can never know everything about you, but I’m going to try! To humbly conclude that I have only so much time, energy and resources that I can offer but these are small matters if I can love you more!

​

And especially in the case of Jesus, it is to fall at His feet and say, there is nothing I can do in this lifetime that will ever come close to giving you what you are worthy of. There is nothing you can ask of me that I don’t owe to you already. There is nowhere that I won’t go and nothing that I won’t do if it means I can know you more.

​

-

​

I’d be lying to say that I have this figured out. There are days when I just want to stay in bed all day. There are days when the burden becomes too much and it doesn’t seem worth it. There are days when the cost seems too high. And honestly, there are days when I don’t want to do this anymore.

​

But when I think about Jesus, I have no time to be discouraged. I have no time to give up. I have no time to lose hope. I need to know Christ more today than I did yesterday. And I can’t stop until everyone in this world knows Him. Or I will die trying.

For those of you who are discouraged, burnt out, or defeated,

to those who are asking yourselves, “is it worth it?”

​

Yes, it is worth it. It always will be.

​

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Again and again and again.