David Gergen advised four U.S. presidents. His iconic line still used by political campaigns is, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” He explained, “Rhetorical questions have great power.” Agree. So, I’ll borrow and re-phrase. Are you better off with Jesus?
I realize that sounds overly pragmatic. Just because something works doesn’t make it true. Belief doesn’t make it true either. So, my qualified answer to the question is yes, because what we know about Jesus is actually true.
A parent once told me, “We let our children decide for themselves about religion.” Sounds noble, but that treats thoughts about life, worldview, and faith as a smorgasbord of meaningless choices, any one of which will do. The irony is that this parenting style is not hands-off. The parents are actively portraying truth as simply a personal preference. No wonder young adults embracing Christianity these days often cite their need for solid ground to stand on. They believe they are better off with Jesus.
I assure you, Jesus can bear up to honest scrutiny. In Tim Keller’s book Reasons to Believe, he imagines Jesus saying, “Look at who I am. Look at my cross. Look at my resurrection. No one could have made this up! Come to me, and you will find rest for your souls.” I would add these reasons to believe: the evidence from science for an intelligent Creator; the veracity of the Biblical text and God’s redemptive story in human history; the lives of Jesus’ followers and their sudden and remarkable burst of courage even unto death; and the way the Christian worldview makes sense of the world as we experience it, including the presence of evil and suffering.
You are better off with Jesus as the Shepherd of your soul and Author of your existence. C.S. Lewis ended the adventures of his Narnia characters writing, “Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” The promise of eternity is a powerful antidote to the soul pathologies of worry, fear, and rage, replacing those with joy, peace, and patience.
Life is either hollow or hallowed. Flannery O’Connor wrote, “Redemption is meaningless unless there is a cause for it in the actual life we live…To me the meaning of life is centered in our redemption by Christ and what I see in the world I see in its relation to that.” Life is better with a holy, God-given purpose.
Read what the Bible says. It is “written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (Jn. 20:31). You’ll be better off if you do.