Jesus once asked some friends, "Who do people say that I am?" He received several different replies. Some folks were saying that he was a prophet. Some said he was a reincarnation of a long dead person now returned to life. He would also be called a lunatic, a devil, a rabble rouser, a man suffering with delusions,. Of course, others called him by some other names too. Bartimaeus, who had been born blind but was healed and now could see, called him "healer." Mary Magdalene, who had been set free from demons, called him "deliverer." Peter, a common fisherman, called him Messiah. John, his friend, called him "the Son of God."
People have not changed much in 2,000 years. We still put those names and labels on this man who walked through the pages of history for only 33 short years before he died.
Today, it is not unusual to hear his name mocked and used as a curse word or flippantly called out in jest. Why is it that the name of Jesus and God are used in conversation as expressions of hate, ridicule, and condemnation. No one ever pulls the name of Ghandi or Confucius out of the hat when they hit their thumb with a hammer and want to fill the air with purple speech. But, I remember a day shortly after I had received Jesus Christ as my Saviour and had a life changing experience that was fresh in my life, that I whacked my thumb with a hammer. Months later, the thumb nail would fall off as the blue and purple discoloration subsided. But, at that moment of impact and pain, my mouth uttered praises to God - something that never would have occurred before that life changing experience.
Jesus! Is he only an intellectual exercise for you, or is he a life changing experience? It is somewhat like the experience of riding a bus. You can stand at a bus stop for months and watch busses pass you by hour after hour and you never enter the door of a single bus. You may greet every passenger and wave to every driver. Intellectually you may know that each bus will go from your bus stop to the local shopping mall - but that is all you possess, an intellectual knowledge. On the other hand, people who go to the bus stop and get on the bus have much more than an intellectual knowledge about bus travel, they have a personal experience of being transported from one place to another on the bus. Knowledge alone is not enough to get you where you want to go! Action is required.
You can be honest, educated, clean, and pure - but never get on the bus. Alternatively, some of the dregs of society can get on a bus and be transported by the bus driver. What is the difference between the two? Without getting too spiritual about it, I would say that one group chooses life, and the other group chooses death. You have to get on the bus if you want to go to the mall. And, you have to have a personal experience with Jesus Christ if you want to go to heaven!
The ultimate question for every person is this: Is Jesus Christ merely a product of our own thought processes to be discussed within an intellectual framework as though we were discussing Julius Caesar, Aristotle, Winston Churchill, or Napoleon Bonaparte? Intellectually interesting, but with no personal application. Or, is he alive today in the same sense as our spouses, our children, the postman, or a teacher? Is he capable of invading our lives now in exactly the same manner he did Bartimaeus, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John? Did he invade our world 2000 years ago, and does he demand a personal response from each of us today. Which leads to a much deeper and poignant question, is it true (as he claimed), that he can and will indwell, reside within, become a part of, any person who asks him to become their friend and Savior?
Your answer to that question is critical to your eternal well being. See you on the bus, I hope.
People have not changed much in 2,000 years. We still put those names and labels on this man who walked through the pages of history for only 33 short years before he died.
Today, it is not unusual to hear his name mocked and used as a curse word or flippantly called out in jest. Why is it that the name of Jesus and God are used in conversation as expressions of hate, ridicule, and condemnation. No one ever pulls the name of Ghandi or Confucius out of the hat when they hit their thumb with a hammer and want to fill the air with purple speech. But, I remember a day shortly after I had received Jesus Christ as my Saviour and had a life changing experience that was fresh in my life, that I whacked my thumb with a hammer. Months later, the thumb nail would fall off as the blue and purple discoloration subsided. But, at that moment of impact and pain, my mouth uttered praises to God - something that never would have occurred before that life changing experience.
Jesus! Is he only an intellectual exercise for you, or is he a life changing experience? It is somewhat like the experience of riding a bus. You can stand at a bus stop for months and watch busses pass you by hour after hour and you never enter the door of a single bus. You may greet every passenger and wave to every driver. Intellectually you may know that each bus will go from your bus stop to the local shopping mall - but that is all you possess, an intellectual knowledge. On the other hand, people who go to the bus stop and get on the bus have much more than an intellectual knowledge about bus travel, they have a personal experience of being transported from one place to another on the bus. Knowledge alone is not enough to get you where you want to go! Action is required.
You can be honest, educated, clean, and pure - but never get on the bus. Alternatively, some of the dregs of society can get on a bus and be transported by the bus driver. What is the difference between the two? Without getting too spiritual about it, I would say that one group chooses life, and the other group chooses death. You have to get on the bus if you want to go to the mall. And, you have to have a personal experience with Jesus Christ if you want to go to heaven!
The ultimate question for every person is this: Is Jesus Christ merely a product of our own thought processes to be discussed within an intellectual framework as though we were discussing Julius Caesar, Aristotle, Winston Churchill, or Napoleon Bonaparte? Intellectually interesting, but with no personal application. Or, is he alive today in the same sense as our spouses, our children, the postman, or a teacher? Is he capable of invading our lives now in exactly the same manner he did Bartimaeus, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John? Did he invade our world 2000 years ago, and does he demand a personal response from each of us today. Which leads to a much deeper and poignant question, is it true (as he claimed), that he can and will indwell, reside within, become a part of, any person who asks him to become their friend and Savior?
Your answer to that question is critical to your eternal well being. See you on the bus, I hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment