"The One Who existed from the beginning is the One we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life." (1 John 1:1, NLT, 1996 Edition)
I have observed over the years that if you talk of God, not much problem. Talk of Jesus, however, and you have a lot of problems.
Jesus defines God. He states quite clearly, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father"; no one, no thing, no religion, philosophy, speculation, etc., can say or do that. People want believe-anything-you-wish religion. Advocate this kind of "ecumenism" and most will accept, or at least, tolerate you. This is the reason we tend to talk of God and not Jesus, though there is no "division" in the Blessed Trinity, as in God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Now I confess that I have had people over my life time, either overtly or covertly, indicate that I am involved in, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, "much ado about nothing." Well, my friend, it is not. It is "much ado about everything." Apart from Scripture, I believe Blaise Pascal said it better than most. "Not only do we know God by Jesus Christ alone, we know ourselves only by Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ, we know neither life, nor death, nor God, nor ourselves." Life apart from Jesus is utter futility.
There is a "spirit" loosed in the world today similar to the folk in Nazareth, "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?" To most, Jesus is just "one among many." But I declare to you today that if we marginalize our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives, our Churches, writings, teachings, "witness," programs, etc., there is nothing left, nothing but, "sounding brass or a clanging symbol." Be silent on Jesus and there is nothing left but silence itself.
To those of us who, "....honor the Son as they honor the Father," I say never be "light-hearted" when we speak Jesus' Name. Rather, may we speak Jesus' Name with the sense of Isaiah 9, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined....And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that I do as You tell us in Your Words, "....All should honor the Son as they honor the Father." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
