Love to hear from and know who is listening
Who is Jesus to you? A survey done in 2020 by lifeway research reveals that 52 percent of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more. It may not be a great surprise that the majority of the U.S. population rejects the deity of Christ, almost a third of evangelicals (30 percent) agree that Jesus was merely a great teacher. And while 66 percent of American evangelicals disagree with the statement, "Jesus was a good teacher, but he was not God," nearly as many (65 percent) still agree with the statement, "Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God." Statistics like these from the State of Theology survey are quite shocking, but they also shed light on the concerns that many American churches have expressed for decades. As the culture around us increasingly abandons its moral compass, Americans are sadly drifting away from God's absolute standard in Scripture.
2 Timothy 4: 3-4 NIV For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Jesus is just one of many gods to the Hindus. Islam believes Jesus was a prophet and wise teacher, but not God. Buddhists recognize Jesus as only a wise teacher and a holy man. To some Jesus was a healer. He restored a shriveled hand, reattached an ear, and raised the dead. He healed cripples, mutes, and the deaf. He healed every part of the body, eyes, ears, hands, feet, legs, backs, and skin. Jesus healed everyone who placed their faith in Him and came to Him for healing. To the Romans, Jesus was a troublemaker who had got his just desserts. To the Pharisees Jesus was a threat. He regularly exposed their hypocrisy and inconsistencies and He was a threat to their entire worldview. The Pharisees tied salvation to performance of the law, and Jesus tied salvation to faith in Him. If Jesus was not who He claimed, then He would have been the blasphemous teacher the Jews spoke of. Only a handful of Jesus faithful followers believed that he was the messiah, the Son of God. As far as the Bible is concerned, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He died for our sins and He rose from the dead for our justification. We can only get to God through Him.
John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Throughout a good chunk of my life, I have believed that Jesus was my savior. I believed this because that’s what everyone told me. As I have grown older my views of God, Jesus, and faith have evolved. Referring to Jesus as just my savior feels insufficient. Yes, Jesus Christ is my Savior, but more importantly, Jesus is my Lord. And if Jesus is my Lord, I should focus my life on doing his will, and not fitting Jesus into my will, my world.
So, with Christ as my Lord, I must now live my life for him. Ideally in a perfect world, where Christ goes, I follow. Where Christ decides to send me, I go. What Christ wants me to do, I do. But, sometimes I aruge with Jesus. Sometimes I fight His will! I can’t lie, I argue, fight and resist. I am a bit of a control freak and it is very difficult for me to let go and trust that Jesus Christ knows better than I do what is best for me. But in the end, Jesus love wins me over. Because Jesus is Savior and my Lord. He is full of love, grace and forgiveness. Who is Jesus to me? He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is my Savior. He is my LORD. He is my GOD. That’s who Jesus Christ is to me.
