There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under the Sun. Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a saviour
The extent of the happiness and confidence we can feel in the statement above depends upon two simple things. Our belief and need. The message and meaning of Jesus’ life was directed at those who needed him most.
He did not come to praise the good or reassure them, he came to help the struggling, the evil, the messed up and mixed up, the lost. He came to save me and you, and in a world where everyone wants to pretend that they are something they are not there lies the tension.
We are no longer like the early apostles who would glory in Christ’s salvation of them, who would openly boast of how he helped them overcome their past weaknesses and sinful lives. No, everyone now wants to be seen to be perfect in their own right. We are willing to admit to Christ as a lifestyle choice but not as a desperate need, as a friend but not a saviour, as a way to heaven but not as a way out of a deserved hell. Could it be that we are just too good or are we just confused?
The following was written by Paul, a missionary to the gentiles, dynamic preacher and writer of many New Testament books. “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT)
Here speaks John the Baptist, a preacher who challenged the leaders of his time to live moral lives, who baptised thousands of people as part of his reforming work and yet who lived a modest humble life. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Matthew 3:13-14 (NIV)
Do you need a saviour at all? In moments of stillness far from the hypocrisy of the modern world are you willing to admit your need and his solution? We are all sinners, we mess up. We think the wrong things and we do them. Our thoughts and feelings are not always honourable and few would have all of their most secret moments shown live on TV. If all of our thoughts could be transmitted on the radio would we tell our mothers to tune in and listen?
There is a choice to be made and it’s a simple one. Live a lie or live the truth. I don’t want to spend my life carrying around a burden of guilt torn between what I know I should be and how I really am, constantly juggling with my self esteem and conscience, constantly prodded by my pride and envy. I don’t want to be a “wannabe”. I want to be free to be me.
And this is what Jesus offers, a chance to shed the burden of the world’s expectations and pressures and become what he made you to be. Free to choose, no longer driven by irrational passions and fears instead able to find peace of mind and remorseless confidence in each and every decision through prayer. No longer subject to the knee jerk reactions of the lost, panicking over things that will not last, desperate for things that do not bring happiness, subject to desires and longing that ultimately destroy us. Are you willing to admit that clarity of purpose, behaviours, hopes and dreams borne of heaven and a lifelong communion with one who can solve all your problems is a better way?
So here we are back at the beginning again. Are you willing to admit you need a saviour, that you long for his forgiveness and peace, that you prefer his decisions to lead you through life over your own or are you perfect still?
My life is easier, happier and more fulfilling with him, how about yours?
“ Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “ John 10:9-10 (NLT)
The extent of the happiness and confidence we can feel in the statement above depends upon two simple things. Our belief and need. The message and meaning of Jesus’ life was directed at those who needed him most.
He did not come to praise the good or reassure them, he came to help the struggling, the evil, the messed up and mixed up, the lost. He came to save me and you, and in a world where everyone wants to pretend that they are something they are not there lies the tension.
We are no longer like the early apostles who would glory in Christ’s salvation of them, who would openly boast of how he helped them overcome their past weaknesses and sinful lives. No, everyone now wants to be seen to be perfect in their own right. We are willing to admit to Christ as a lifestyle choice but not as a desperate need, as a friend but not a saviour, as a way to heaven but not as a way out of a deserved hell. Could it be that we are just too good or are we just confused?
The following was written by Paul, a missionary to the gentiles, dynamic preacher and writer of many New Testament books. “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT)
Here speaks John the Baptist, a preacher who challenged the leaders of his time to live moral lives, who baptised thousands of people as part of his reforming work and yet who lived a modest humble life. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Matthew 3:13-14 (NIV)
Do you need a saviour at all? In moments of stillness far from the hypocrisy of the modern world are you willing to admit your need and his solution? We are all sinners, we mess up. We think the wrong things and we do them. Our thoughts and feelings are not always honourable and few would have all of their most secret moments shown live on TV. If all of our thoughts could be transmitted on the radio would we tell our mothers to tune in and listen?
There is a choice to be made and it’s a simple one. Live a lie or live the truth. I don’t want to spend my life carrying around a burden of guilt torn between what I know I should be and how I really am, constantly juggling with my self esteem and conscience, constantly prodded by my pride and envy. I don’t want to be a “wannabe”. I want to be free to be me.
And this is what Jesus offers, a chance to shed the burden of the world’s expectations and pressures and become what he made you to be. Free to choose, no longer driven by irrational passions and fears instead able to find peace of mind and remorseless confidence in each and every decision through prayer. No longer subject to the knee jerk reactions of the lost, panicking over things that will not last, desperate for things that do not bring happiness, subject to desires and longing that ultimately destroy us. Are you willing to admit that clarity of purpose, behaviours, hopes and dreams borne of heaven and a lifelong communion with one who can solve all your problems is a better way?
So here we are back at the beginning again. Are you willing to admit you need a saviour, that you long for his forgiveness and peace, that you prefer his decisions to lead you through life over your own or are you perfect still?
My life is easier, happier and more fulfilling with him, how about yours?
“ Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “ John 10:9-10 (NLT)