You Have To Do Something With Jesus

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.  When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,  telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ Matthew 28:11-13

Hello readers.  Welcome to my heart.  Let's begin. 

I was talking to one my dear friends and coworkers about religion the other day.  I'm unsure of where she stands with the whole religious topic, but I do know that she has a background in the Christian faith.  So the comfort level was fairly high during this conversation.  Anyways, she expressed to me that she's been thinking.  Which instantly makes my stomach tighten.  "Please don't ask me anything that I can't answer about the Bible and make me question my faith."  I don't know why that was my first worry, but it was.  So she goes into her thought.  "I've been thinking.  That it seems that all religions are worshipping and praying to the same God.  I find that interesting.  Makes me think.  Ya know?"  I immediately scream "blasphemer!" and smack her----hahaha, just kidding.  I , however, found it interesting myself that the thought was presented, because I too have thought about the same thing.  But then God took over my mouth.  This is how I responded.

I yelled blasphemer and smacked her.

Haha, just kidding.  This is what I really said. 

"Ya know, that could be true.  But what I know separates the Christian faith from any other faith is that you must do something with Jesus.  There's historical evidence that He existed, which then makes you have to do something with the words He spoke, which makes you have to do something with whether He was either fully a liar or fully God in human form."

And as I said that, I stopped and looked at her.  And she was nodding in agreement, but I was more stunned at what had just came out of my mouth.  Because before that moment, I had never thought of that answer.  And it was good!  It honestly strengthened my faith, almost as if she had answered the question for me.  Then my mind went racing onto this other idea.

We sometimes like to suppress the truth in hopes of things going away. That's why I shared the passage above.  I'm sure it's safe to say that this could be why the chief priests had to devise that plan in the passage.  "We have to come up with something that doesn't prove Jesus is actually alive now.  Because if He is, then we just killed the Son of God."  Another example, this suppressing of truth is the active agent when let's say I have a sharp pain in my chest and I'm afraid to go to the doctor.  The truth of this sharp pain will require me to do something with it.  But if it stays a mystery, then I have control over it.  "Oh, it's just because I've eaten too many tacos this week.  Or it's probably from when my roommate punched me in the chest the other night.  Yeah, maybe that's it."  We suppress the truth in hopes of forcing things to not exist.  And maybe this is the working element in the atheist and agnostic faiths, that if God remains a mystery or doesn't exist, then I can control my destiny.  If God doesn't exist, then there's nothing holding me accountable for my actions.  There's no justice system.  There's no proof of right and wrong, good or evil.  But if He does...I have to do something with it.  I have to respond. 

You have to do something with Jesus. 

My point is this, that there is no gray area when it comes to this.  I'm sure many of you can agree with me that it's benignly insane and hypocritical to believe partially in something---because it's hard to know which to take seriously and which to not.  I mean, it'd be bad to ignore the wrong thing huh?

So since we have to do something with Jesus, we have to do something with the words He spoke.  Which then means we have to do something with the fact that He came, He performed the miracles, He died, and He rose.  We have to do something with it.

Here's what I suggest.

Believe.

Believer and unbeliever, this is the foundation of the Christian faith.  This is why Jesus is such an iconic figure in the world and the faith.  Since it's true that He was born, which confirms what the prophets testified about the coming Messiah was true.  Which has to prove that His reason He spoke of for coming to this Earth was true, that it was to pay the cost of sin.  To be the sacrificial lamb of God, to save and redeem us.  So that our sins could be forgiven and we could been seen as righteous in the sight of God, holy and blameless because of what Jesus said His reason for being here was, and because the prophets testified of the coming salvation, because He born.

You have to do something with that.  There's too much active truth for you to ignore that.  This is a matter of life and death.  That pain in your chest could be more serious than you think.  Yes it could be just from an ant bite or a punch in the chest....or it could be signs of an approaching stroke.  It's too serious to ignore.

You have to do something with it.

You have to do something with Jesus.

“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. ³² He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! ³³ Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. ³⁴ For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. ³⁶ And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”  John 3:31-36