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Jesus

A baby born like millions of others—and yet…

He grew up in the usual way—except…

He died just like every person must—but then…

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Our life consists not in the pursuit of material success but in the quest for worthy spiritual growth. Our entire earthly existence is but a transitional stage in the movement toward something higher, and we must not stumble and fall, nor must we linger fruitlessly on one rung of the ladder. Material laws alone do not explain our life or give it direction. The laws of physics and physiology will never reveal the indisputable manner in which the Creator constantly, day in and day out, participates in the life of each of us, unfailingly granting us the energy of existence; when this assistance leaves us, we die. And in the life of our entire planet, the Divine Spirit surely moves with no less force: this we must grasp in our dark and terrible hour. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

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I am very doubtful whether history shows us one example of a man who, having stepped outside traditional morality and attained power, has used that power benevolently. C.S. Lewis

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Consider these questions: Did Jesus ever suggest by word of example that we should aspire to acquire, let alone take over, the power of Caesar? Did Jesus spend any time and energy trying to improve, let alone dominate, the reigning government of his day? Did he ever work to pass laws against the sinners he hung out with and ministered to? Did he worry at all about ensuring that his rights and the religious rights of his followers were protected? Does any author in the New Testament remotely hint that engaging in this sort of activity has anything to do with the kingdom of God? The answer to all these questions is, of course, no. Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church

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Consider these questions: Did Jesus ever suggest by word of example that we should aspire to acquire, let alone take over, the power of Caesar? Did Jesus spend any time and energy trying to improve, let alone dominate, the reigning government of his day? Did he ever work to pass laws against the sinners he hung out with and ministered to? Did he worry at all about ensuring that his rights and the religious rights of his followers were protected? Does any author in the New Testament remotely hint that engaging in this sort of activity has anything to do with the kingdom of God? The answer to all these questions is, of course, no. Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church

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“Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the entire Bible. Psalm 117, before Psalm 118 is the shortest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119, after Psalm 118 is the longest chapter in the Bible. The Bible has 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118. If you add up all the chapters except 118, you get a total of 1188 chapters. 1188 or Psalm 118 verse 8 is the middle verse of the entire Bible. Should the central verse not have an important message? It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. Psalm 118:8" godsotherway.com

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The world takes us to a silver screen on which flickering images of passion and romance play, and as we watch, the world says, ‘This is love.’ God takes us to the foot of a tree on which a naked and bloodied man hangs and says, ‘This is love.’ Joshua Harris 

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"When we have overcome absence with phone calls, winglessness with airplanes, summer heat with air-conditioning—when we have overcome all these and much more besides, then there will abide two things with which we must cope: the evil in our hearts and death." ——Nicholas Wolterstorff wrote those words in his poignant tribute Lament for a Son. On the battlefields of Europe—and not just Europe—those two things converge.

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Who Is He? Conclusion

We are left with the all-important question: Who is Jesus? A group of His opponents were sure enough to want to stone Him to death on the spot. Claiming to be one with the Father. Who does he think He is?

Well, first off, He doesn’t think, He knows. He knows He is God’s love personified—God’s love as a person reaching out with human hands to rescue the hurting and those causing hurt—in other words, for everyone. He is the truth-teller, the life-giver, God’s first responder to this sad, sorry, sinning world.

As Joshua Harris said  in I Kissed Dating Goodbye:

"The world takes us to a silver screen on which flickering images of passion and romance play, and as we watch, the world says, “This is love.” God takes us to the foot of a tree on which a naked and bloodied man hangs and says, “This is love.”

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What is dying? I am standing on the sea shore, a ship sails in the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says: 'She is gone.' Gone! Where? Gone from my sight—that is all. She is just as large in the masts, hull and spars as she was when I saw her, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination. The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her, and just at the moment when someone at my side says, 'She is gone' there are others who are watching her coming, and other voices take up a glad shout: 'There she comes!' —and that is dying.

Bishop Brent (1862-1926)