Higher Calling in Christ

In my last blog I posed a question towards the end. That question was, “Who is Jesus?” I had mentioned Him multiple times in my blog. How rude of me to not introduce you to the most important person in my life.

Historically, Jesus was a man that walked the earth over 2,000 years ago. He lived in the Middle Eastern area of the world. His father’s name was Joseph–who was a carpenter–and His mother’s name was Mary…he had brothers and sisters…blah, blah, blah…the Brady Bunch.

Here’s the thing, Jesus wasn’t just a man. He existed long before His earthly parents. In order for you to truly know who Jesus is you have to go back to the beginning. “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.” (John 1:1 AMP)

God created the whole universe and everything in it. Jesus created the whole universe and everything in it. What?! Yep. You see, before the human race even existed, Jesus existed.

When He came to earth and walked on it like a man He robbed himself in flesh. He put a body on like as if it were clothes, and He lived among us. When mankind looked upon Him it was like looking at the Son of God (John 1:14).

Why would God want to come to earth and live in our midst? He did it because He loved us. You see when the earth was first created God made a man and a woman: Adam and Eve. He created them in His image. They had the ability to choose what they did each day; they could choose what they ate, what the names of the animals that lived among them would be, and they could create things. But, there was one thing that they couldn’t do. They could not eat from one tree. That tree was called “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9) All they had known and experienced was good until they chose to eat from that tree. They thought that God was withholding something from them worth having, but really God was only protecting them. After eating from that tree they experienced and recognized evil. They never had to deal with that before.

Why would God put it there to begin with? Well, that is a good question. To me, it was a test of love. Love is not just a feeling, it is an action. You cannot make someone love you. God loved Adam and Eve and He wanted them to love Him back. God would not make them do that. They had to choose love. Trust is a great way to show someone that you love them. This was one way that God gave them to show that they trusted Him.

Back to the question of why God would want to come to earth and live in our midst; it is also because we all need a Savior. Because of the wrong that Adam and Eve did, sin entered the world and separated mankind from God.

In order to bring mankind back close to Him again, He came down to earth and lived with them, wooing mankind back to Him. We are all guilty of sin, and the punishment is death. But Jesus took our place and our punishment.

There is a great divide between mankind and God. The only way to have access to God is through Jesus Christ, but you have to choose Him. You see, God is still not in the business of making people love Him, of making people trust Him. You have to choose to trust Him.

I chose to trust God by accepting the gift that Jesus has for us. The gift of life, the gift of access to God again. But what if you just don’t trust that Jesus is God in the flesh, the Son of God? What if you just think that He was a man, a good man, a moral teacher or a prophet perhaps? But God? That’s a bit of a stretch for you.

Here is a lengthy quote from C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

C.S. Lewis quote from “Mere Christianity”

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

There you have it. Now that you know who Jesus is, you have a decision to make. If Jesus truly is who He said He was, then as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, we should come under His authority.

Jesus said, “…I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6 AMP)

Tell Jesus, if you trust Him to be the King and Lord of your life, that you believe. Talking to Him is just like talking to anybody else. No fancy words or special formulas. Just honest, truthful, from the heart talking.