Christ IS Better
For many North Americans, Jesus is far too familiar. His name evolved into a curse word. His claim to be fully divine (along with fully human) became reduced by popular society to an image of a "good man" teaching "good things". The seriousness of our sin -- or outright rebellion! -- was minimized. And God's love was elevated and esteemed more highly than God's justice. In doing so, we have rejected chapters upon chapters of the Bible, labeling them as irrelevant to a culture bent on a theology of Universalism. You're okay. I'm okay. We are all okay. It will all work out in the end, whether you believe in Jesus or not. He will let you into His Eternal Glory even though you decided that you wanted nothing do with Jesus on Earth. Sure. Come on in. Take the best seat in the house.
I know what I write above is laced with sarcasm, and may even sound judgmental. However, I am currently wrestling with some truths I have recently gleaned through our small group Bible study on Hebrews. The key thought that echos through the text is "Christ is better". He is better than the angels. He is superior to Moses. He is the ultimate priest. He is above all and created all. He is the King of the Universe. And He is our brother since He became human. He is the epitome of E-P-I-C! Every single thing on this earth pales in comparison to Him.
Our refugee family has taught me a profound lesson on trust. Truthfully, I have no idea what horror we rescued our family from. I do not know what their eyes have seen and how many loved ones they have lost to the wretched, agonizing war that ravaged their home town. All I know is that at some point in time, embracing the life of a refugee was more hopeful than any other option out there. So they fled. And they lived five years in a refugee camp, waiting for some group of people to sponsor them.
Then our Refugee Committee came along, backed by dozens of churches and one generous community. The refugee family's names came up on a registry of potential families we could sponsor. Their family was our first option. We said yes.
As our family continues to settle into life in prairie southwest, their implicit and explicit trust in our group astounds me! They trust us more than the cultural and religious community they would usually fit into. They allow us to interact with their children, take them on trips and transport them to various activities. They communicate to us over and over again their personal gratefulness and love. It is incredibly beautiful and overwhelming!
A story is recorded in the book of Luke, where a sinful woman comes into a Pharisee's house where Jesus is having dinner. She is weeping. She kneels at Jesus' feet and bathes them with her tears, wiping the dirt with her hair. Then she anoints them with expensive perfume. She was a woman of questionable reputation. She was viewed with utter disgust and disdain by religious leaders. The Pharisee thought to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who was touching him and what kind of woman she is -- that she is a sinner."
Of course Jesus knew who she was and he goes on to talk about a moneylender who forgave a big debt and a small debt. Who would love the forgiving moneylender more? Obviously, the answer is the one who owed more. Similarly, Jesus goes on to explain that the sinful woman owed more. She knew she was a sinner. She knew she needed Jesus' forgiveness. Consequently, she loved Jesus more than the Pharisee. (Luke 7:36-50)
One thing I appreciate about scripture, is how in several places, God's love is coupled with His justice. In Psalm 62 it states, "Power, O God, belongs to you; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely your repay all people according to what they have done," (vs 11b, 12). God is love. God is judge. However, post-modern movements within Christianity seem to want to erase anything that is uncomfortable and unpalatable. We live in a society that defines tolerance as accepting every way of seeking God as correct. Jesus is just one of many good leaders. It doesn't really matter who you believe. We all end up in paradise anyway. Why would a loving God send people to hell???
Now, I feel ill equipped to breakdown the doctrine of hell here. However, I am trying to make a point. I believe the reason our society, and even people who claim to be Christians, are so flippant and casual about Jesus is because we do not think our situation is that bad. We fail to see our brokenness and the hell we live in everyday. We think we are good on our own. We do not need anyone to save us. We can do it ourselves. Yes, Hitler was bad. Yes, religious extremists are bad. But not us. We are okay.
This sort of thinking is like our refugee family sitting in a bombed-out building in their home town and saying, "We'll stay here! It isn't that bad."
Kids, it's bad. We are sitting in the bombed-out, fire-ravaged building. We are the sinful woman in Luke. We need to be forgiven. We have sinned much.
A perfect Jesus battled death, hell and sin when He died on the cross. Being God, Jesus proved He could vanquish an age-old enemy though His ressurrection. Somehow, all of this saves those who believe Jesus did it for them. He payed the penalty for us. God's justice demanded the debt to be payed. God's love provided a way for the debt to be payed. Our only act in the drama of salvation is to repent of our sin and accept God's grace. That is it.
If we realize HOW MUCH Jesus did for us, we would be crazy in-love with Him and do whatever He asks us to do without question! We would trust Him implicitly and explicity, just as our refugee family trusts their sponsoring group because they KNOW what hell they were saved from! I confess I still need to know this truth deep in my heart.
J. D. Greear, a pastor in North Carolina, who offers a sermon series on Hebrews entitled "Christ is Better", states the following in one of his books:
“The gospel has done its work in us when we crave God more than we crave everything else in life and when seeing His kingdom advance in the lives of others gives us more joy than anything we could own. When we see Jesus as greater than anything the world can offer, we’ll gladly let everything else go to possess Him.”
And...
“We are changed not by being told what we need to do for God, but by hearing the news about what God has done for us.”
Children, may you know Christ IS better.
I know what I write above is laced with sarcasm, and may even sound judgmental. However, I am currently wrestling with some truths I have recently gleaned through our small group Bible study on Hebrews. The key thought that echos through the text is "Christ is better". He is better than the angels. He is superior to Moses. He is the ultimate priest. He is above all and created all. He is the King of the Universe. And He is our brother since He became human. He is the epitome of E-P-I-C! Every single thing on this earth pales in comparison to Him.
Our refugee family has taught me a profound lesson on trust. Truthfully, I have no idea what horror we rescued our family from. I do not know what their eyes have seen and how many loved ones they have lost to the wretched, agonizing war that ravaged their home town. All I know is that at some point in time, embracing the life of a refugee was more hopeful than any other option out there. So they fled. And they lived five years in a refugee camp, waiting for some group of people to sponsor them.
Then our Refugee Committee came along, backed by dozens of churches and one generous community. The refugee family's names came up on a registry of potential families we could sponsor. Their family was our first option. We said yes.
As our family continues to settle into life in prairie southwest, their implicit and explicit trust in our group astounds me! They trust us more than the cultural and religious community they would usually fit into. They allow us to interact with their children, take them on trips and transport them to various activities. They communicate to us over and over again their personal gratefulness and love. It is incredibly beautiful and overwhelming!
A story is recorded in the book of Luke, where a sinful woman comes into a Pharisee's house where Jesus is having dinner. She is weeping. She kneels at Jesus' feet and bathes them with her tears, wiping the dirt with her hair. Then she anoints them with expensive perfume. She was a woman of questionable reputation. She was viewed with utter disgust and disdain by religious leaders. The Pharisee thought to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who was touching him and what kind of woman she is -- that she is a sinner."
Of course Jesus knew who she was and he goes on to talk about a moneylender who forgave a big debt and a small debt. Who would love the forgiving moneylender more? Obviously, the answer is the one who owed more. Similarly, Jesus goes on to explain that the sinful woman owed more. She knew she was a sinner. She knew she needed Jesus' forgiveness. Consequently, she loved Jesus more than the Pharisee. (Luke 7:36-50)
One thing I appreciate about scripture, is how in several places, God's love is coupled with His justice. In Psalm 62 it states, "Power, O God, belongs to you; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely your repay all people according to what they have done," (vs 11b, 12). God is love. God is judge. However, post-modern movements within Christianity seem to want to erase anything that is uncomfortable and unpalatable. We live in a society that defines tolerance as accepting every way of seeking God as correct. Jesus is just one of many good leaders. It doesn't really matter who you believe. We all end up in paradise anyway. Why would a loving God send people to hell???
Now, I feel ill equipped to breakdown the doctrine of hell here. However, I am trying to make a point. I believe the reason our society, and even people who claim to be Christians, are so flippant and casual about Jesus is because we do not think our situation is that bad. We fail to see our brokenness and the hell we live in everyday. We think we are good on our own. We do not need anyone to save us. We can do it ourselves. Yes, Hitler was bad. Yes, religious extremists are bad. But not us. We are okay.
This sort of thinking is like our refugee family sitting in a bombed-out building in their home town and saying, "We'll stay here! It isn't that bad."
Kids, it's bad. We are sitting in the bombed-out, fire-ravaged building. We are the sinful woman in Luke. We need to be forgiven. We have sinned much.
A perfect Jesus battled death, hell and sin when He died on the cross. Being God, Jesus proved He could vanquish an age-old enemy though His ressurrection. Somehow, all of this saves those who believe Jesus did it for them. He payed the penalty for us. God's justice demanded the debt to be payed. God's love provided a way for the debt to be payed. Our only act in the drama of salvation is to repent of our sin and accept God's grace. That is it.
If we realize HOW MUCH Jesus did for us, we would be crazy in-love with Him and do whatever He asks us to do without question! We would trust Him implicitly and explicity, just as our refugee family trusts their sponsoring group because they KNOW what hell they were saved from! I confess I still need to know this truth deep in my heart.
J. D. Greear, a pastor in North Carolina, who offers a sermon series on Hebrews entitled "Christ is Better", states the following in one of his books:
“The gospel has done its work in us when we crave God more than we crave everything else in life and when seeing His kingdom advance in the lives of others gives us more joy than anything we could own. When we see Jesus as greater than anything the world can offer, we’ll gladly let everything else go to possess Him.”
And...
“We are changed not by being told what we need to do for God, but by hearing the news about what God has done for us.”
Children, may you know Christ IS better.