The Choices We Make
Jesus was a wonderful teacher, but no mere teacher has the authority to raise the dead. Jesus was a leader, a prophet, a moral visionary but none of these explain His impact on civilization. As some unknown writer once expressed it:
“Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3 years. Yet the influence of Christ’s ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined years of teaching from these greatest of philosophers.
“Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the finest artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
“Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him.
“Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the music they composed in His praise.
“Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.”
It took a Roman centurion, stationed at the foot of the cross who watched Him die, to sum it all up saying, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mt. 27:54)
No one else who has ever lived spoke with the authority with which Christ spoke. He was unique. There has never been another like Him, and there never will be again.
This brings us to an obvious question: If Jesus is the Son of God, and if His teachings are the foundation upon which our faith and lives are built, shouldn’t that fact be reflected in how we live? If Jesus is the son of God, shouldn’t we reflect His influence more in our lives?
A story is told by a pastor of something that happened many years ago during the Korean War. A man was aboard a flight from New York to Los Angeles. The flight attendant seated a girl in her early twenties beside him.
Obviously this girl had never flown before. Over the loudspeaker, the flight attendant said, “Fasten your seatbelts.” The girl didn’t even know what a seatbelt was.
The pastor helped her and asked, “You’ve never flown before?”
She said, “No, this is my first time.”
As he spoke to her, she opened her pocketbook and there was a picture of a handsome young GI.
The pastor said, “You’re going out to see him?”
“Yes,” she said, “he’s coming home. I’m going to see him.”
She went on to explain that they had gotten married a year and a half before. They had a honeymoon of just a few days, and then he had been shipped out and left for Korea. Now he was coming back home and she was going to see him.
The pastor could tell that going to see her husband meant more to this young woman than anything else. He was her bridegroom, she was his bride, and she was going to see him.
The pastor concluded the story saying, “You wonder sometimes why Christians live as they do and make the choices they make. They are on their way to see their bridegroom, yet they go right out and live in the world as though it made no effect in their life at all…”
The choices we make in life make a difference. Let us resolve to make a difference this year: to be more faithful to Jesus, to be more attentive to the needs of our church, and to be more kind and considerate of one another.
