What is it about Jesus that so fascinates and mystifies people? Why is it that people still, to this day, talk about Jesus and are so interested in what He said and did? Without question, He was the most extraordinary, influential, and yes, revolutionary, individual to ever stride across the stage of human history.
More books have been written about Jesus Christ than any other figure of the past. More music has been composed about Him than any other person who ever lived. More drama has been written about the life and ministry of Jesus than any other person.
Why is it that one man occupies such a unique and unforgettable place in human history? Why doesn’t his memory fade away like so many others who were so significant in their time? There is something about Jesus Christ that sets Him apart from every other figure that has ever lived. Unlike all leaders of the past, Jesus remained as much, if not more, of a focus and influence in our society as a contemporary leader.
And it isn’t just people who claim to be His followers that are interested in Him. Everyone has a general fascination with Jesus. Perhaps we even wish we could have walked the dusty streets of Jerusalem with Him.
Before I was a Christian, I was always fascinated by Jesus. I wasn’t raised in the church and didn’t have the advantage of being raised in a Christian home. Instead I was raised in an alcoholic home and a fatherless home. I never heard anything about God.
Understanding His Story
The only spiritual instruction I received was from movies that were on television around Easter or Christmas. I remember watching those movies and thinking, “I like the story of Jesus. This individual named Jesus seemed like a wonderful guy.” But I didn’t like the way His story ended. I thought that someone ought to rewrite the whole crucifixion part.
Of course, I didn’t understand that is the reason Jesus came to this world. He came to die and bear our sins on the cross of Calvary.
How wonderful it would have been to have walked the streets of Jerusalem with Jesus. How wonderful it would have been to sit with the multitudes and hear Him deliver the Sermon on the Mount. And how wonderful it would have been to see Him walking on the water.
But in a sense, we can know Him in a very real way. John, who personally walked and talked with Jesus during His earthly ministry, said, “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life” (1 John 1:1 NLT).
John was saying, “We walked with Him. We talked with Him.”
Have you ever had anyone stare at you? I think the disciples probably stared at Jesus. Maybe He would be doing something and then look up to find them all staring at Him, just trying to figure Him out.
They walked with Jesus. They heard His voice. In the original language, the term John used for “heard” could be translated, “still ringing in our ears.”
His Inescapable Impression
Have you ever heard a song that you couldn’t get out of your mind? Or have you ever been seated next to a bell that went off? The sound still rings in your ears, even after it has stopped.
So John was saying, “His words are still ringing in our ears. When we close our eyes, we can still see His face. We think of the things that He said and did. And we are saying that you can have fellowship with Him.”
If Jesus were a mere man, then we don’t have to concern ourselves with Him. But if He was who He claimed to be, the Son of God, then there’s a question that we cannot escape: What are we going to do with Jesus?
There are a lot of people who say they admire Jesus. But Jesus said He was God in human form. He said He was the only way to God. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT).
Do you believe it, or don’t you? To be undecided is to be decided against Him, because there are no other possibilities.
The Offer Jesus Extends
Jesus died on the cross, paid for our sins, and rose again from the dead. And He says, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20 NLT).
Would you like Jesus Christ to come into your heart? Maybe you’re saying, “I was raised in a Christian home.” That’s great, but there has to be a moment in your life when you put your trust in Christ. Have you done that yet?
Or maybe you’re saying, “I’m not the religious type.” Join the club. God isn’t looking for the religious type; He is looking for the sinner type. And we all qualify. We’re sinners in need of a Savior, no matter what we’ve done.
So how do you put your faith in Jesus? You do it through prayer. You say, “Lord, come into my life. Forgive me of all of the wrongs that I’ve ever done. Pardon me for all of the sins that I’ve committed. Come into my heart and be my Savior and Lord.”
Jesus didn’t say, “Think good thoughts about Me. I would appreciate it.” Rather, Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
He asks us to make a decision about Him.
So what are you going to do with Jesus?
We all have to answer that question sooner or later. In this world or in the world to come, we all will face it. But if you wait until the world to come, it will be too late. That is why you need to think about it now.
My prayer is that you will make the right choice and ask Him into your life.
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Learn more about Pastor Greg Laurie.
This article was originally published at WND.com.
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