Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Why Jesus?


Up to now I have never actually explained why Jesus is "my kind of Messiah". Here are three reasons why I choose Jesus as my Lord and my God...

Jesus cares

How many times have I walked past a beggar on the street today? At least twice, each time fiercely staring at the pavement in front of me, desperately avoiding eye contact. The Lord Jesus Christ was never like that. He stopped to chat with beggars, much to the disgust of his more affluent audience.

But Jesus did more than just ignore social barriers. He removed them altogether, restoring genuine equality and social justice. Whereas Robin Hood robbed from the rich to give to the poor, the Lord Jesus gives to rich and poor alike from his own spiritual riches. "Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them" he says.

Jesus challenges

He questioned the values of contemporary society. Apathy, hypocrisy, mockery. Whatever preconceived notions people had about him and his message, he made those people think again. They marvelled at his authoritative words, his diplomatic statement of outrageous truth. Read the words of Jesus again and see if they challenge you!

Jesus changes

Most famously, he turned water into wine. His followers clearly abandoned the task of exhaustively recording his full list of miracles (John 20.30). His greatest transformation takes place in people's hearts. He brought new life to so many people in that day. And he's still in the same business today. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature altogether. The old has gone, the new has arrived!"