Following Judah's Lion

In Search of Jesus

Once upon a time, in a land and time far away, a human Seed was murdered. And as this Seed died and was buried He seemed to be gone forever. But after three long and dark days, the morning of the third day arrived. And on this morning this Man got up from death and left His tomb in a resurrected mystery. And the Seed that died alone, arose with a harvest of other coming seeds.

Now the path of redemption was now complete and wide open for all who would believe in this Man, Jesus. The message of the cross and resurrection was to be preached throughout the entire world, and the offer of redemption was to be to all men. And the call, for all who by faith would become born again followers of this Risen Jesus, would be a call to humility, love, and power.

These followers of Jesus would be peacemakers and gentle, seeking the good of everyone else above their own. They would be known for their love, and although they would not compromise the gospel message, they would present it in humble boldness and bathed in fervent prayer.

These citizens of a new kingdom would eschew all earthly endeavors meant to bring about change without Jesus. They would humbly be separate and different than others yet completely engaged in other ways meant to showcase the redemption of Jesus. They were free slaves of the Most High and were busy spreading the knowledge of their Savior and Lord. Their eyes were set on eternity and their sojourning here was meant to point to the eternal. And among a world of hatred and selfishness, their lives would be remarkably different and conduits for people to see the Creator and His offer of eternal redemption.

Their lives would substantiate the gospel message. That plan, that commission, has been abandoned in favor of earthly endeavors, political infighting, words of hatred, judgment toward sinners, and using Jesus as a doctrinal tug-of-war. The life of humble sacrifice is considered too timid. Expressions of divine love for lost rebels is considered compromise. Receiving attacks without responding is considered surrender. Showing grace is considered condoning sin. And if you line up 100 different evangelical groups, from the most staunch Calvinist to the most liberal emergent, you will not see a smidgen of difference in their living expressions of Jesus Christ. The only distinct difference will be battles of ink and paper.

So if a lost sinner would ask, “Where can I go to find Jesus on this earth?”what would we tell that person? Would we have to recite the gospel plan without being able to point to any dramatic lifestyles that could be used as evidence? And when that sinner says, “You mean to tell me that you actually believe you have eternal life with Jesus, and that all who do not believe in Jesus will live eternally in a very bad place, and yet your life doesn’t seem much different than mine?” how do we respond?. And then that perceptive sinner asks these questions:

“Why are you in debt if you are just passing through this life?”
“Why do some Christians speak so harshly of lost people if they need Jesus?”
“If there are so many lost people heading for eternal death, why do you never weep?”
“If you are content in Jesus, why do care what America does?”
“If everything you have belongs to Jesus, why do you fight so much to keep it?”
“Would you give your life for me?”

Are we witnessing the death of New Testament Jesus following?