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Jesus is real
by Jack Earl It is important for us to keep in mind that Jesus was a real man who walked this earth and left footprints in the sand. There is more historical evidence for the person of Jesus than there is for the person of Julius Caeser or Nero. Few people would dare to question the reality of the historial fact that at one time a man named Jesus lived and walked on this earth. Those who have made such suggestions are immediately discredited as some kind of kook. Today you can still travel to Israel and walk the same roads and climb the same hills that this man Jesus walked nearly 2,000 years ago. You may even unknowingly set upon the same rock that He sat upon to rest. An educated doctor named Luke tells us that he carefully investigated everything and wrote down an orderly account of the life and events surrounding this man, Jesus. (Luke 1:3) It is also important for us to keep in mind that Jesus was clothed in a human body with a human brain. He had to learn to walk and talk and read, just like the rest of us humans. He was not born with all knowledge. He had to grow in knowledge and stature. Dr. Luke tells us that this Jesus, "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52) Why is it important for us to realize that Jesus was a man? It is important because our appreciation of Him can only go just so far if we only know Him as the Son of God living in the Heavens. Our ability to identify with him is limited. We can only really love someone that we know personally. We can have our theology correct but not really know Him as a person. It was the apostle Paul's desire to "know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death." Philippians 3:10 We can come to know Jesus as we carefully follow His footsteps through the gospels and as we experience similar sufferings as He did during this life. How can we really grasp the hurt that Jesus felt until we also experience the same rejection from those whom we love as did He? When I was a child my mother tried to prepare me for the real world of kindergarten with this advice, "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." However, I discovered that was not true. Words did hurt. And the hurt often remained much longer than the hurts from sticks and stones. I recalled the names that I was called for years after the event. When those names come from those who really care about, they are especially hurtful. When I read that the people mocked Jesus while He hung dying on the cross, I know that such mocking must have hurt. Jesus was not beyond the hurt of ridicule. Nor was He beyond the hurt of rejection. Jesus cared for those who were causing Him pain. It was for their sake that He was hanging on that cross. The physical pain must have been excruciating but the hurt of rejection and ridicule was even moreso. The closer I can identify with Jesus, the more my love grows for Him. Jack Earl is a retired Christian Bookstore manager, a graduate of Moody Bible Institute. He now lives in the Seirra Nevada Mountains in central California. He may be reached at [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |