What will you do with Jesus?
Every one of us will either have to reject or deny him. He
is either a Savior or he was merely a fool. He is either the truth or he is a
lie. He was raised from the dead on Easter Sunday morning and seen by more than
500 historical witnesses or neither of those occurred and billions have falsely
believed this for 2000 years.
But everyone will answer the question. What will you do with
Jesus?A “no answer” means you have in fact answered. An “I don’t believe in God” response means you too have given an answer as well. There is no way around it and God designed it to work just like this, way before your cells came together and formed your being.
This is the central key to our celebration of Easter. Every 12 months all of man is once again faced with this age old question. It is God’s way to remind each of us that we will answer this question and he designed it that way on purpose.
See Jesus wasn’t crucified on Good Friday to force us into lives based on various do’s and don’ts. Going to church on Sundays, not drinking, avoiding sexual immorality, or being a good person, have nothing to do with being a Christian. True Christianity demands first that we decide what we are to do with Jesus. Once we believe God, will work on the rest and show us who he wants us to be and that’s where the Bible comes into play.
But first we must believe.
I have chatted with many who have made the decision to reject him and that saddens me. They truly have no idea the eternal path they have laid out for themselves as a result. But what bothers me even more is when a parent has basically made their own children answer in the same way by keeping them away from and keeping them unexposed to God. These same people are usually the ones that also say they want their child to make their own decisions about such things and want them to be exposed to a variety of aspects of life. Yet, they refuse to even take them to a church service here and there. Even if it is just once a year, take your family to an Easter service and let them make their own decision to believe or not. Your disbelief should not be a default answer for everyone around you. Your answer very well could be wrong and if it is, you will be responsible for their eternal fate.
My own Easter story is a great example. My journey of belief started when I was 11 years old and my family attended a small Baptist church in south Houston. I walked up front one Sunday morning and told our pastor that I wanted to get baptised and I did. A few years later at a camp called Super Summer my personal answer to this question became real.
Since then I have done my best to center my life on this belief. I do my best to be a giver, work hard, love others around me, help anyone I can, be a great friend, father and spouse and stand up for what’s right. Yet those that really know me know that I can still be mean, hard headed, indulgent, lustful, doubtful, worrisome, and selfish. In many ways I’m the same failure many that reject him are.
But I believe and for that simple belief I get the security of knowing God is always with me, I will spend eternity with those I love who also believe, and there is nothing I will face in life that I won’t have the strength to handle.
God’s love doesn’t make sense to the human mind. I wonder every day how it is he loves me because I can do so many stupid things and be so selfish. Yet he does. It’s called grace and underserved mercy.
Now all we have to do is decide our answer to the question he has put before us.
I know mine.
You?“It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.'” Romans 14:11
© 2013, J. Brady Speers
“I say it how I see it and I make no bones about it."
