Resurfacing on the Blog . . . Seeing the Genuine Savior

Yep, that's what I'm doing, resurfacing after a stuttered quietus (blog entries here and there). One of our Elders, Gary Appleby kindly urged me to continue writing, for which I here give him thanks. It's not that anything urgent has prevented any blogs necessarily. But one thing we are all learning from the Worldwide Web and that is, simply put, that it IS world wide! And it seems to be becoming even more so as time passes. My point here is simply that what one thinks in the confines of his own office in a small rural town like Perry, NY is that a small word may be a "shot heard round the world!" Or it could be just heard by the few. Either way, that's no problem. We don't write for fame or for a sure return. We often have no idea who reads what we write. But if God puts something on our hearts, the reception is not so much our responsibility as is the penning of those thoughts. The Spirit carries truth home to the heart, and only He.

American Christianity seems to often base its success on numbers, or as it's put, we seek "more bang for the buck." But that can be an elusive goal, and worse it will likely divert us from what is most important. In fact, it's almost guaranteed to do so. Jesus' entrance into this world went completely against the tide of expectations, Jewish, Roman or otherwise. If Jesus entered the world and were always perceived as the most "together," wealthy, influential,  or powerful, then on what basis would folks have followed him? I'm not saying that this is the only reason Jesus entered the world in Bethlehem poverty, but it certainly figures into the salvation equation.

In the late 1980's I did some construction work for a young man who it turns out was a millionaire. In talking with him, he shared with me that he had met and married his wife before ever telling her that he was wealthy. When he met her he drove a beat up old VW van (pea green, I believe). Why do this and take a chance of erecting a wall of distrust between yourself and your new bride? Well, because he had had experience in the world and knew that there were women who'd be quite ready to marry him for his money. He was also a nice looking guy to boot. Later, in speaking with his wife, she shared her initial disappointment that he had not felt her trustworthy enough or her love genuine enough to share this knowledge. Part of us can understand both sides in this situation. Jesus took all that off the table. If anyone were to place their trust in Christ, it would have to be on the basis of the unvarnished truth of his diety bound up in humble human form.

Those who have eyes of faith, can see the value of the genuine article. And this faith comes from God. Palm Sunday exultation gives way to angry hatred and crucifixion within just one week! Man is fickle. But God is not! And he knew quite well the state of this world which he came to save.

Wherein does your trust lie? Those who see through Jesus' ignominious death will in the end discover that they are married to One who unimaginatively wealthy! But He never misleads. Follow Christ. Yes, follow Jesus Christ.