Jesus has to be the most perplexing man to have ever roamed earth. Name the great names of human history. No one compares. No one.
I know. I know. You expect me to target the resurrection for no other has encountered such. Well, Lazarus did...but then he died again. But there is yet another trait that is equally impressive.
Jesus loved his enemies to the point of death. Yes, his resurrection is beyond impressive. But the reason he was executed in the first place is stunning. He was killed because it was the only route he knew to take to save his enemies from going to Hell.
When Jesus, who knew Father and Spirit intimately, submitted to slander and misrepresentation and public beatings and obscene ridicule so that those who mocked could have a shot at living forever in the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, one surely should take notice. Jesus wasn't your average hero, national leader, or military conqueror.
Jesus was like no other. He stood firm against the bully church and her leaders. He stood strong for humanity's fringe citizens. And, he lived to eventually take on every wrong all men and women commit.
This last one is what I want to strike upon mostly. It is one thing that a man or woman would reject Jesus simply because they choose not to. However, it is quite another to fail to understand that no one follows Jesus because one is found good enough.
No one is good enough. Not one. Therefore, this is not sufficient excuse. Not one pastor, nor saintliest of any community, nor most humble. Every person is guilty of enough sin to be cast from God's presence. Yet, Jesus disrupts the standard. He upends the world system of getting what one deserves.
Those of us who follow Jesus do so because we deserved Hell but won't get it. He didn't deserve it; but got it. He traded places by taking on our guilt and shame.
If you didn't know this, it is high time you do.
Furthermore, if you have friends who don't know it, pass this on. Jesus upends our discouraging, depressing, barking world system that keeps reminding us of how shallow we are. He, instead, lived to take on all of our discouragement, depression, and nagging voices in order to set us free.
May we learn to soar!
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