A Welcome Break From The Routine

Today was quite possibly the most exciting day of work ever for me. Although it was yesterday that our shop truck was in a bit of an accident, and we have had no fires for quite some time, it was exciting for an entirely different reason. You see, today I spent a solid two hours explaining the gospel to one of my co-workers, and attempting to answer some of his questions about Christianity and what we believe and why. His questions ranged from "How could an all powerful God allow so much evil and corruption to exist?" to "If God created all plants, is it a sin to smoke marijuana, as it is something that He created?". So as you can tell, the conversation jumped around to a variety of topics. As far as I can recall, this was the first time that I have ever had the chance to actually share the message of the gospel with a non-believer, or at the very least the first time that I have had the courage to do so. As I talked with him, he said that some things were starting to make more sense, but he still remains skeptical, so needs more prayer. The whole experience payed dividends for me as well, as it really caused me to think about what it is that I believe. So as you can tell, I am extremely excited that I had the privilege to be a part of this.

Over the course of the conversation, his one question really stuck out to me, as it is pretty much essential to our entire faith, yet it is one that the church seems often to gloss over. After explaining Jesus' mission here on earth, he asked me, "Why would an all powerful God allow himself to become a human, as we are nothing at all in all our weakness?" It really struck me that this was one of the first questions to come to his mind after hearing the story of Jesus. For those of us who were raised in the church, I believe, at least as was my case, that we are somehow better than all the "sinners" out there, turning a blind eye to our own weakness in the name of pride. Or else we don't fully portray just how low a position Jesus held here on earth, compared to His home in heaven. Case in point, how many of you have seen a nativity scene at Christmas where piles of manure litter the floor of the stable; where Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds are dressed in rags; where the baby Jesus is crying; where golden halos float around the heads of those present? How many of you have ever scene pictures in Sunday school of a Jesus who was in extreme agony; a Jesus whose appearance was not that of a physically perfect man; a Jesus who wept openly, despite the fact that He knew that in a matter of days He would restore life to His friend Lazarus? Yet I think that these pictures are much more accurate depictions of the life of Jesus. At the time of His birth, as from all outside appearances He was born outside of wedlock, he would have been shunned by the close-knit Jewish community in which He grew up, living as an outcast. As far as life on earth goes by human standards, Jesus did not have a whole lot going for Him. Yet how often does this fact register in our minds, as we prefer to focus on the kind, joyful, and loving teacher that we know so well? (I am not denying the fact that He displayed these characteristics, I merely mean to point out that there is so much more to Him than we normally choose to remember) I believe that unless we recognize our own depravity, it is impossible to fully comprehend God's act of love in sending His son in human form to earth. I believe that this alone was a huge sacrifice on God's part, only being overshadowed by the crucifixion. For those of you who have read the book "The Jesus I Never Knew", you can probably see where many of these ideas are coming from. For those of you who haven't, you're missing out big time! Anyways, just thought I'd share a little snippet of excitement in an otherwise mundane day, and maybe even challenged your thinking in the process.