By LEON YOUNGBLOOD
llyoungblood@ooutlook.com
I suppose indifference is the easiest, least bothersome, most painless way to avoid interaction with Christ. With any real encounter with Christ, a person will either love or hate Him, which explains some of the extreme reactions against Him not only during His earthly ministry, but in the present day, as well.
But what are people reacting to? Quite simply. I think it is merely the natural mortal response to God the Father and Christ the perfect Man. Regarding God the Father, He is infinite, holy, righteous, just, all-powerful, and these qualities are just for starters. John the Apostle quotes Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman is enlightening: “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John also states in his 1st Epistle. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Take note, however, in the 20th chapter of Exodus, God Himself admits, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.”
Holy, perfectly righteous, just, Spirit, bigger than we are by a long way—as mere mortals, we don’t stand a chance. This is why we run.
However, God knows we’re human. I do not think it’s that God the Father is difficult to please; it’s just that He’s impossible to satisfy. He wants us to be growing. There is difficulty relating to this, so, among other things, God became flesh and blood to show us what it is to be Human.
God did this through Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate. It’s important to realize, there was never a time when Jesus Christ was not God, but there was a time when Jesus was not human. The Incarnation began the very moment Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, and while it’s difficult for us to comprehend, we must remember, God is God. He can do these things! God became a embryo, living and growing in the Virgin Mary’s womb, being born, growing up, respectfully saying “yes, sir,” and “yes, ma’am.” “please” and “thank you,” and being such a wonderful boy that there was something odd about Him. I’m sure as Jesus grew, He was liked, loved, even admired by many, but there was a quality about Him people somehow could not rise to or even quite describe, namely, Jesus was Human. Not human the way you and I are human, but Human the way God intended Humans to be in the first place. Jesus was Spiritual, sinless, perfectly obedient to God (whom He called Father)—when people saw Jesus, they saw Man. Though He was and is God, Jesus never presumed to be anything other than Man. It is quite a contrast to so many men and women who never presume to be anything other than gods.
When one encounters Christ, neutrality is impossible. One either accepts or rejects Him, but for what purpose does a person accept Christ? The answer here is, Jesus Christ came to restore the broken relationship between us and God the Father. Of Himself, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
And this, of course, is where so many stumble. If interest warrants, we will continue next week. .
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”
Have a blessed Christmas.
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