Jesus challenges Christians and warns the unsaved. To Christians with his WORLDVIEW. It has:
SINCE we have HIS worldview, live UP to it. To the unsaved, with NONE of the above as their possession, their worldview is TOO small! Certainly if it’s as small as our neighbor’s: Keeping her mobile home upgraded, her car in good repair and her flower garden watered and fertilized. Even if it’s as great as Cecil Rhodes’. A 19th century British imperialist, he once placed his hand on a map of the vast central region of Africa. Only that, he said, satisfied him: All that under British domination. Small or great ambition, unless it embraces and embodies the worldview of Jesus Christ, we THINK, HOPE and DREAM TOO SMALL. We can always find someone who teaches what we want to hear. Only Jesus will tell us ALL we need to know to embrace his worldview. Every teaching of every other leader will leave us bereft of God’s Word, Cause, Character and Presence. Fini
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Jesus understood the ambivalence his family felt towards him, their:
While he understood them, they didn’t him during his ministry. Nor would he explain himself, for a simple reason:
Strictly speaking, no one can YET! Jesus exhausts all the meaning of all the words in every language…being beyond description, however colorful or eloquent the speech. John 21:28 embodies that truth. No one has ever…or…can ever…fathom the Person of Christ. No matter the multiplied tributes paid him. He’s always under-praised. No matter what obedience we offer him. He deserves better. No matter the books written in his honor. Countless more volumes need to be published. Infinitely MORE about Jesus always remains to be studied, as Samuel Rutherford confessed: “I see more of Christ than ever I saw, yet I see but little of what may be seen.” No wonder, when Paul in Ephesians 2:6-7 declared eternity the only fit environment to study Christ. Implying, of course, even glorified mortals will NEVER completely fathom the FULNESS of the GODHEAD! End Part III Next: carefully choose your WORLD. V True to God alone, Jesus offended many and perplexed everyone. He stood apart, as the Only One of his Kind, they existed as a part of the group, one filling in as another departed. If they wanted him to claim a Messianic role, that time hadn’t come. If they expressed unbelief in him, he didn’t care. Any appeal they made beyond what God dictated to him would be wrong, however sincere.
A truth Christians must observe in a post-modern world. Those within God’s will live by a different standard from those outside his will. With the inevitable result that those without God’s call on their lives undervalue the decisions made by those attentive to his claim. A distinction clearly seen between Jesus and his siblings. As Christ’s brothers could go to Jerusalem anytime, without risking danger, non-Christians can participate in activities and lifestyles that cater to their instincts. As his family regarded Jesus as a misguided zealot, the unsaved often consider Christians judgmental zealots. Furthermore, unbelievers can’t understand that Christians gladly live within the restrictions God’s word imposes on them. While offending friends and family, disciples of Christ pay that price since God’s will comes first! Believers in Christ must be, because they choose TO BE, attentive to their higher calling in Christ Jesus! Though the difference can create stresses that eventually fracture relationships, those devoted to Christ realize it’s all part of having Jesus as Savior and Lord. A timeless truth reminds us: since Jesus felt free living within God’s will, we know freedom cannot be found by living within our own. End Part II Jesus faced opposition throughout his ministry, as Luke 4:13 recorded. Some, like the Jewish leadership, opposed him intentionally and persistently. Some, like his own family, unintentionally, but as persistently.
Both groups found him:
John 7:1-13 records his brothers’ rejection of Christ’s ministry, popular as it had been. Like Abe Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, and Sam Walton in NW Arkansas, hometown residents in Nazareth, and his biological family in Capernaum, remained unconvinced by Jesus. As expected, Jerusalem:
Like New York to present day entertainers…the place to be… “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere” the song said. Like Washington, D.C. to politicians:
Senator Robert Taft came to office in 1939. When he left a Washington dinner that night, he heard a doorman shout, “Senator Taft’s car”. The Senator quietly complimented his car, but knew it wouldn’t come on demand. He found his Dodge and drove away. Life History of U.S., Vol. 11, 77
Our Master Jesus Christ, the noblest of all royals, the greatest of all the great to live among us, the single person worthy of all honors, privilege and perks, accepted none not offered everyone else. No surprise, then, that he is renowned in all nations and religions, however imperfectly understood, worshipped and obeyed. His spiritual aura, effervescent persona and captivating self-assurance endowed him with the GLORY to bear the shame of Calvary. For the simple reason that he gave positive meaning to the worst humiliation known to mortals, as well as to dreaded disease and sickness. The Cross, devastating to all but HE, found him:
Christians understand therefore that we:
And all we offer is belief in him, obedience to him and service in any way we can render it. Understand? |
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