Perhaps no figure in human history has been discussed, dissected or received more devotion than Jesus who is called the Christ.
The prophets of the Old Testament wrote of Him though they could not fully comprehend it all. Isaiah called him a “man of sorrows.” (See Isaiah 53)
Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire on love; and at this hour millions of men would die for his sake. I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man.”
Mahatma Grande admired him and his teachings. He allegedly said on one occasion, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Unfortunately, many of us have helped him come to that conclusion.
This land was settled by many who came with a desire to freely worship God. Yet today when an athlete or public figure seeks to name Jesus as the source of his strength and character, the name of Jesus is blotted out lest someone be offended. We are so secularized that the term “under God” is under the threat of being removed from the Pledge of Allegiance as well, as the term “So help me God” from the oath of a witness in a legal trial.
We have not reached the perils of the first century Christians who would not say Caesar is Lord. Many met their death at the hands of wild animals or gladiators. Yet, the message of Christ would not be stopped. During the plagues Christians would rush into the city to care for the dying while other residents of the cities would flee from the contagion. Hospitals, orphanages, and other ministries of mercy came into existence through the efforts of those who called Jesus, Lord.
Many of us who have undergone MRI examinations may be surprised to learn the machine was developed by a man who became a follower of Christ at a Billy Graham crusade. Modern medicine began when Christian scientists, who saw the orderliness of nature, entered a study of the human body to determine cause and effect. It is interesting that the Gospel is advancing at
It is interesting that the Gospel is advancing at a faster rate in countries there is a heavy threat of persecution, even death, than it is in the United States with all our freedoms. We are entering the season of celebration of the resurrected Christ whom we feel is now alive and lives in our hearts. Yet the general population sees it as a time for eggs, bunny rabbits and new clothes; rather than greeting friends with the exclamation, “He is risen, with the expected response, “He is risen indeed.”
Writer, Sheldon Van Auken and his wife became good friends with C. S. Lewis while they were studying at Oxford University. Lewis had moved from a position of agnosticism, to embrace the Christian faith as an adult literary academic figure. As he shared with his friends, the clouds begin to part and Van Auken stated in his book, A Severe Mercy — “And by now we knew it was important. If true, and we admitted to each other the possibility that it was, it was very simply, the most important truth in the world — and if untrue, it was false. No halfway house. First or nothing! I pray that you have settled that in your life.
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