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-John 3:16 

In a coffee shop, right outside a major university in East Asia, I quoted this well-known verse to my new friend Mark (I'll call him that to preserve his identity) as he stared back at me in awe of this good news that he was hearing for the first time in his entire life.  For Mark and millions of other East Asian college students, there is hardly a chance that they've even heard just one verse from the Bible in its proper context. Imagine growing up in a country that has no concept of God.  Seriously, take a moment to imagine not growing up without 15 awesome youth groups within 1 square mile.  Imagine no Veggietales, or Christian radio.  Imagine no Catholic school.  Imagine having parents who were Buddhist or Confucian; or who are in a high Communist Party leadership position where choosing to believe in God leads to certain persecution, even death.  Imagine not knowing a single Christian.  Imagine what your dozens of atheist/Buddhist/Confucian friends would think of you if you told them you believed in Jesus?  What about your dreams of getting a well-paid, secure job in the government?  In his country, you can't boldly claim the name of Jesus and expect to get any sort of job like that. Now there's something to lose isn't there?

Many East Asian college students I shared the Gospel with this summer understood the cost that it carried to follow Christ.  As Jesus himself said, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple... So therefore, if any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27, 33)."  Whether they knew it or not, they saw that following Jesus was more than just showing up to a church on Sundays.  Most of the students that heard the Gospel this summer didn't accept it - the cost was too high or the concept was too foreign.  However, by the grace of God, my friend Mark was a different story.  As my fellow American and myself were sharing about Jesus with Mark, the Holy Spirit was working in his heart.  We told him about creation, and about how none of us are righteous, but all have sinned (Rom 3:23), and how the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).  After much deliberation, and many engaging questions, he then asked:  "Then, how do I get to be with God?"

"But God demonstrates his love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8 

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9   

Wait, while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me?  It took me over twenty years to understand that.  I grew up in the church, too.  Trust me, I had a really good Christian resume to brag on.  And what, it's not by my efforts that I'm saved?  It took over twenty years of guilt-driven life re-dedication and effort redoubling to come to the end of me and finally... GIVE. UP.  I surrendered to grace.  And so did Mark.  "Do you want Jesus, Mark?" I asked. "Yes, I do."  "Why do you want Jesus?"  Mark replied: "As you have been sharing with me, I realized what a selfish life I have been living.  I don't want to live for myself anymore."  What a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit!  Mark had literally never heard of Jesus before we talked to him.  But God opened his eyes and changed his heart once he experienced grace for the first time.  Now, he is walking with Christ daily.  Praise God! I would like to add that Mark was a very smart dude.  He could speak English with near-fluency.  He was a thermonuclear energy and physics major (or something like that; just the name of the major was too much for me to handle).  He certainly wasn't duped to believing in Jesus.  We even went through the complete Gospel with him a second time to make sure he knew what he was saying yes to.  "There are many questions that science and math cannot answer," Mark said.  But Mark did not desire Jesus because the Gospel explained away the mysteries of the universe, but because he had found a treasure of incalculable worth. 

When someone like Mark truly sees the value of having Jesus - not just claims Christ, but passionately bears his/her own cross- it always makes me think of my favorite parable in Matthew 13:

  "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

My prayer for us as a church is Philippians 3:7 & 8:  "But whatever gain I had, I counted it as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ."