Who is this Christ?
For the past 8 months, I have been slowly reading through the gospels, asking myself the question, who is this Christ? It is the most important question anyone could ask themselves. After all, whether we believe it or not, Christ was a man who changed the world. His life on earth dictated everything. His life changed how our calendar is arranged and provided wisdom to the masses. Christ indeed was a good man, full of wisdom and truth about how we should live together and love one another. He is the one who reaches for the marginalized, who sees our whole life and wants to give us eternal life (John 4:1-38). He sees us and knows us and still wants to draw us to himself.
He was the one who healed a man on the Sabbath, knowing that He would be ridiculed by his own people. Christ is the one who is compassionate towards our physical needs. He fed the 5000, not because they deserved it, but because he loved them (John 6:1-15).
Who is this Christ? He is the one who sees right through my heart. When we are more focused on self and physical comforts, he gently calls us to turn back to him and focus on the things of this life that are most important (John 6:16-40). He was rejected by His own people, and yet had the power to forgive them of their own spiritual blindness and self-righteousness.
Jesus alone is the one with the words of eternal life. He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and the one who will raise us up on the last day. Christ has freed us from sin (Galatians 5:1). He has fulfilled the law and made it possible for us to be justified apart from works of the law (Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse himself (Galatians 3:13). He has made it possible for all to receive the blessing of Abraham and the promised Spirit by faith. (Galatians 3:14).
So, what is faith?
It is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). It is acknowledging a power so great that even the wind and the waves obey His voice. It’s looking up into the stars and knowing He is there or watching the sun set knowing that His timing is perfect. It’s believing that the synchronization of breath and life and the blood running through our veins could only come from Him. Faith in the Almighty, I AM is so much greater than action equals reward, because when we have faith in Him, it’s about seeing and discerning the love of a Father who built this world so that He could dwell with us. From the Garden of Eden, to the tabernacle in Exodus, to Solomon’s temple, to the incarnation of His Son, and the establishment of His church, God seeks for His people to have a relationship with Him. Oh yes, He wants to reward us for our faith. But he is not a God to be bartered with like the pagan gods. He is a God whose perfect justice could not ignore the sin of mankind, yet made a way for our redemption through His perfect mercy and grace. It’s knowing with full assurance that the covenant God made with Abraham, applies to us, and believing that God keeps His promises. For each one of us, deserving of death, He gave His own Son that we might have life. Faith is believing that the only way to life is through the powerful working of the blood of Christ and believing that there is nothing that could ever be done by any of us to earn His mercy. True faith, like Enoch, and Abraham and Moses, is confidently placing our lives in His hands and giving our obedience to say “yes, God, I want to be a part of Your story.” Faith in God is knowing Him so surely that we cannot help but obey, because in the daily walk with Him we have learned that the more we seek Him, the more our hearts want to glorify Him in everything we do.
“For without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6