The Unexpected Benefit of Following Jesus

If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago if I’d consider Iowa for a weekend get away I would have laughed out loud in your face.

Iowa? What are you, crazy?

But all that changed when I found a piece of my heart in the people of Iowa.

It took me by surprise as it so often does.

My plan was to show up, share what Christ had taught me, then quietly leave. Easy does it. Don’t get too involved. Don’t look in their eyes for longer than a second.

It turned out there was more in store for me.

There are so many benefits to being a follower of Jesus Christ.

The moment I committed my life to Jesus, I received eternal life. I was immediately free of my guilt, my shame, my sin, my past. I was given hope. I was assured presence before God the Father. I was promised the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who would encourage me, teach me, guide me, comfort me, remind me, correct me. I was given the Word of God with its thousands of promises. I was granted righteousness, peace, purity, and God’s presence in my life. I was given an inheritance so magnificent my mind still can’t wrap itself around it.

But the most unexpected benefit that was thrown in the deal is the family God gave me the moment I began following Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I should have expected God to blow my mind away with this. After all, He doesn’t make an effort to hide his awesome goodness to me.

It took a weekend with Iowa to remind me of the amazing family God gave me. On first glance you wouldn’t think I’d have anything in common with anyone from Iowa. I mean, I’m a Lebanese immigrant who thrives on the hustle and bustle of the city.

It took all of 3 minutes with my extended relatives in Iowa to see how superficial I can be and how deep the love of Jesus is. First there was Evie, my alter ego. If there was ever a woman made after my image it would be Evie. Thanks, God, for making her so cool. Then there were Susan and Amanda, and Dannel and the matriarch, not to mention the countless nameless faces that have been imprinted in my heart forever.

John 1:12 says that as many as receive Christ, to them God gives the right to become children of God.

There’s something special about being in the family of God. It’s an intangible that rests on the common realization that nothing in us is deserved, that all that is good is a gift of God, and that the future is limitless.

There is hope in the family of God. There is love unconditional in the family of God. There is unity when God’s word is followed.

You don’t have to tell me how badly we can screw it up when we try to force our way in the mix. You don’t have to remind me of the difficult second cousin or the aunt that just won’t shut up. I’ve been that aunt before.

Perhaps like me, you just need to go to Iowa and be reminded of the unexpected benefit of following Jesus Christ.

And for that I will be eternally grateful.

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