Why Him?
I’ve been pondering the following
dilemma, quandary, or whatever you want to call it, for several years
now, and I hope I have organized my words to adequately describe why I
find this such a puzzling matter. If anything, I hope and pray it
causes you to think about what you believe.
If you look at scripture and
history, the multiple attempts made on Jesus’ life and the hate that
was, and still is, directed toward Him should give someone a
curiousness as to why that is the case. Of all the billions of men who
have lived on this earth, what other man has had so many haters and
despisers, even to this day? What is it about this Jesus who generates
such animosity from the world, and loathing and intolerance toward
those who believe in Him?
Over two thousand years have passed
since Jesus departed from this earth, yet people groups around the
world are still trying, in a sense, to do away with Jesus by burning
Bibles, making it illegal to own one, disowning family members,
imprisoning and persecuting those who proclaim Jesus Christ as their
Savior. Even in this country, many have proposed legislation to rid
this nation of Bibles, prayer, and inscriptions on our money,
courthouses and government buildings.
Doesn’t this cause you to think,
why? Why has Jesus Christ, a historical figure like so many others in
the history books, been singled out to be hated, blasphemed and cursed?
Of all the people in the world, past and present, why is it that it’s
His name that’s become so entrenched in the usage of profanity? Why has
Jesus become the cause of persecution around the world to those who
invoke His name?\
If I weren’t already a believer in
Jesus Christ, I truly believe the conspicuous hatred and intolerance
people showed toward Jesus in the past, and still show Him today, would
cause me to investigate the reason. Why Him? What is it about Him that
conjures up such negativity? We don’t see this type of targeting toward
other historical religious leaders throughout history, such as
Muhammad, Zoroaster, Confucius, Joseph Smith, Jr., Dalai Lama, Gandhi,
Brigham Young, and Popes. We don’t read of people protesting statues of
Buddha, or objecting to the writings of Mary Baker Eddy on library
shelves.
There is another key observation
that can be made about this Jesus. He is the only spiritual/religious
leader in all of history for which there is tangible documentation,
aside from the Bible, of being seen alive after being put to death and
buried. There is no such documentation for any of the leaders listed
above.
I know my beliefs in Jesus Christ
won’t allow me to be totally unbiased, but I truly believe my
investigation into Jesus would lead me to conclude that He is who He
claims to be…the Son of God. That’s why I’d also have to conclude that
the hatred fixated on Jesus has to be generated by supernatural
powers...forces at work beyond the flesh and blood variety that are
diabolically opposed to anything to do with Jesus or Christianity. And,
why is that? If Jesus were an ordinary man, and if He didn’t pose a
threat to the future of these supernatural powers, why would they
care?
The reality is they do care. They
will stop at nothing to prevent folks from believing in Him, and that’s
why their primary goal and purpose is to not only dissuade, refute
Jesus’ teachings and to lead astray anyone who gives Him a second
thought, but to invoke hate and outrage over anything to do with Him.
Because of the subliminal influence they have the ability to spread,
without realizing it, individuals can unwittingly become prey to their
lies and manipulation, and end up becoming the public mouthpiece and
activist of these forces.
So, to go back to my quandary…why
doesn’t the outcry of the public toward Christianity and its founder
convince folks that Jesus must be who He claims to be?
I encourage you to take the journey
of asking yourself who Jesus is and why it is so significant that you
come to know Him personally. He is alive, friends. He is a living,
loving, caring Savior. He loves me. He loves you, and I hope and pray
that you embrace the truth of Him.
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