Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Why Did Jesus Come?


“The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (I Corinthians 6:7-11 NIV)

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it would be good to understand just why He came.  From some one could conclude He came to make us feel better about ourselves—He came to validate our worth just as we are.  From others one could assume He serves as an idyllic role model—something to strive towards but with no hope of achieving. And probably the biggest assumption is that Jesus came solely to save us from the punishment for sin.

What results from these views is comfortableness with the status quo. One can believe in Jesus, claim to follow Him, but never really change the way he lives.  Men can be saved, but still mistreat their wives. Homosexuals or transgendered people can choose to follow Jesus, but maintain their lifestyles because He loves them just as they are.  People can follow Him and still remain greedy, looking out only for their self-interests.  And there is a lot of this thinking in the church today.  People want Jesus, but on their terms.  

The truth is Jesus came into our world, not only to save us from eternal punishment, but to transform us into new creations with our old ways of living passing away (II Corinthians 5:16-17) Paul makes this clear when he says, after listing many sinful lifestyles, “And that is what some of you were.”  The implication is when we follow Jesus, our lives radically change.  Not only can we change, but we will change.  Jesus did not come to pat us on the head and to tell us how wonderful we are.  He came to transform us into the men and women we were created to be. This is the deal and it is non-negotiable.  If we want to follow Jesus, we must surrender our will and submit to His.  

Of course, this transformative process is life-long and it always happens within the context of God’s grace and mercy.  There will be numerous stumbles along the way.  But the truth is following Jesus leaves no option to remain as we are.

Today, recognize Jesus came into the world to make it possible for you to become what you were created by God to be.  But for that to happen, you must follow Him on His terms and not your own.  

© Jim Musser 2013

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