Walking Next To Jesus

He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from Him; He was despised, and we considered Him insignificant. But He lifted up our illnesses, He carried our pain; even though we thought He was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something He had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; He endured punishment that made us well; because of His wounds we have been healed.  Isaiah 53:3-5 NET

Walking next to Jesus Christ in His time on earth would have been an experience there are no words for. And He is still among us! And invites us to join Him now in His plan for Salvation.  Yes Lord! If Jesus had been boring, the Pharisees wouldn’t have had Him killed. There would have been no crowds. There would have been no controversy surrounding His life. When He said to the disciples “Follow me,” they would have politely declined. The Gospels wouldn’t have been written because nobody would have remembered what He said or did.

But Jesus isn’t boring. He was incredibly engaging. Thousands of people hung on His every word. He created tension in His talks that set people on edge. He said things that were unexpected. He stood firm in His truth, as God and Son And Holy Spirit He spoke with authority and courage. Two thousand years later, His words are still singing throughout the world.

And it’s not just what He said. It’s what He did. He did crazy things, things that nobody else had ever done. Ever. These things left people dumbstruck and sometimes scared, probably asking “Who then is this, that He commands even wind and water, and they obey Him?” 

And thanks be to our mighty God What’s remarkable about all this is that we have a chance to live like Jesus did.

We’re not necessarily talking about miracles here. We’re talking about living in a way that is engaging, that is memorable, that makes a difference. You and I might never be involved in commanding the wind to stop. But my friend we could be involved in building houses for homeless people to protect them from the wind. We might never raise someone from the dead. But we might be able to help somebody’s dead marriage come back to life. We might need more than five loaves and two fish to feed people. But we can still feed people in Jesus’ name. 

One of the things that I love about having faith in Jesus is that all He requires of us is to believe. He has already done the hard work and we just have to accept it. How can we really allow the work He did on the cross to transform our lives? Do not to be conformed to the patterns of this world, patterns of violence, hate, greed and insecurity, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds with the patterns of Jesus, grace, peace, love, and compassion.