Saturday, July 07, 2007

Five things I dig about Jesus

Little David tagged me for this posting and it took me some time to think about my answers. I do hope that you will all enjoy reading them - feel free to let me know what you think. The rules and my selections are below the list.

Five things I dig about Jesus
(just to name a few)
1. His willingness to leave a perfect place called Heaven. We all admire Jesus for what he did here on earth, but it all started when he said "Here am I. Send me!"
2. His awesome questions. Jesus knew exactly how to ask a question that cuts right through all defenses and smoke screens. If Jesus asks a question, he pins his opponents down with so much ease and eloquence that even the best debater runs for cover. Read the Gospels for a series of good examples.
3. His circle of friends / team selection. Jesus didn’t ask the high and mighty people of this world to join him, he started with humble people from the working class. And he never asked PR agents or spin doctors to give him good advise – he was the best of friends with prostitutes, tax collectors and young rebels; he openly opposed the religious hypocrites and cured a man from leprosy by touching him with his hand. You have to love this Man.
4. His Shepherd's heart. Jesus courageously faced, verbally attacked and exposed the false shepherds of his days. His passion for his Father’s business was strong enough to do some radical house cleaning. But the tender love for his lost sheep brought Jesus to the cross where the innocent lamb was slain. Truly Shepherd, truly lamb… truly God, truly human! My Superhero! Just wait until he returns - on that day everybody will find out who's in charge of the universe.
5. His resurrection power. Look what Jesus did with his dead friend Lazarus! “I am the resurrection and the life,” he told Martha (Lazarus’ sister). “Take away the stone,” he commanded, and “Lazarus, come out!”. And there he was, the dead man walking, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. “Take off the grave clothes and let him go,” Jesus said. And this was only a foretaste of things to come! Jesus is living proof of God's love for all of us! Do you know him? He's my King.

Here are the rules:
(a) Those tagged will share “Five Things They Dig About Jesus”.
(b) Those tagged will tag 5 people.
(c) Those tagged will leave a link to their meme in the comments section of this post so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.

Here's who I tagged:
Mike, Carol, Luis Fernando, John and Phil

6 comments:

Art said...

Excellent answers, Paul. What amazes me about this meme is that everyone's answers are so different yet I come across very few I disagree with (certainly not yours). What this tells me is NOT that Jesus was different things to different people but that Jesus encompasses so much that it is difficult (or impossible) to characterize in 5 statements.

Good job.

Carolanne said...

Great answers, Paul.

It seems one common ingredient that people who do this meme say is found in point 3. Jesus chose to associate with ... anyone. Perhaps it gives us all hope to realise that we don't have to be a celebrity, be rich or famous but Jesus will still be our best friend!

Anonymous said...

Great responses, Paul!

Rev Phil said...

OK I am tagged but give me a few days to get to it. Life is Hectic right now

Carol Douglas said...

Sorry it’s taken this long—been sprinting through my week. But here it is. (BTW, I would have said, “He has friends in low places,” but you’ve already more than covered that.)

Five things I dig about Jesus:

1. He first loved me. How does Jesus love us without qualification, forever? I’m pretty abrasive, shallow, vain. Some days my own mother can’t abide me. Yet Jesus is completely steadfast. If he feels that way, how bad can I be?

2. He was willing to die on the cross to save me. Being our savior was not exactly a cake-walk. He lived in obscurity in a tiny village for most of his life, without any of the trappings of success of an average Jewish striver—no house, no trophy wife, no kids, no linen toga, no turbo-charged donkey. Then he got to wander for three years, deal with crowds and supplicants with no rest, fast and pray, and joust with authorities. All in preparation for a ghastly death and three days in Sheol. Hobbes described the natural state of mankind as, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” (Tragically, this remains the case in much of the world.) Would you give up Paradise for that?

3. He is absolutely good. For most of the lower-case gods, deity is about power rather than about transcending the human condition. Take Artemis of the Ephesians, for example. On the one hand, she blessed the Trojans in their war with the Greeks; on the other hand, she murdered a lot of people for displeasing her. None of this complexity with Jesus—His thoughts are for us, not Him.

4. It’s not all about Heaven. Jesus offers us the promise of sanctification, the Kingdom of Heaven in this world. If we are willing and don’t protect the sore spots Jesus is willing to scrub us clean.

5. No “gnosis” required. It’s not necessary to have a secret handshake or secret knowledge to become a follower of Christ. Anyone who says differently is just jealous.

Luis F. Batista said...

Thank you Paul for the invitation, my five things were just posted:
http://englfbatista.blogspot.com/2007/07/5-things-i-dig-about-jesus.html
blessings