3 Reasons to live for Jesus
I spoke in church about 3 of the reasons that I follow Jesus. Here’s a description of each of them in case you missed it!
Jesus’ perfection
Jesus is the only perfect person in history. No-one else even comes close to achieving the same level of excellence. And what I find truly amazing is that many of His perfect attributes seem almost contradictory. Jesus’ holiness, for instance, means that he is literally ‘set apart’ from everything. Paul goes even further, describing God as one who ‘…lives in unapproachable light, whom no-one has seen or can see.’ At the same time, a study of the gospel accounts shows that Jesus welcomed people throughout his ministry – in fact, he built relationships with people wherever he went. Ultimately, Jesus broke down the wall separating the entire human race from the Father and ‘brought near’ those who were far away by his death on the cross. Another pair of complementary attributes are Jesus’ confidence and his humility. Jesus was always confident (in who he was, where he had come from, where he was going, and in what his purpose was). At the same time, out of a place of total assurance he displayed a humility and submission that we could never attain on our own.
Jesus’ commitment to salvation and restoration
It’s easy to look out at the world and give up on it (maybe because we didn’t make it ourselves!). But God isn’t like that. The Bible says that though Jesus everything was created, and when we look at the complexity of His creation we can see that He didn’t just create, he crafted. Jesus has always cared about the world, and he demonstrated this when he came to earth. He came to ‘seek and save that which is lost.’ This is almost a ‘job description’ for Jesus’ existence, and he continues to save and restore people now. In my own life I am so grateful to Jesus for
saving many of my friends and family, as well
as for impacting my life. When I was 7 years old, my best friend fell headfirst onto some rocks while we were visiting the beach. He was swiftly rushed to hospital, then transferred overnight to a specialist facility. The prognosis was bleak; there was a huge dent in his skull and the doctors couldn’t see any hope of recovery. At best, he would live with severe brain damage for the rest of his life. Overnight, after some intense prayer from many friends, he was healed! The next morning the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him – even the dent in his skull was gone. Praise God! As I’ve given my life over to following Jesus, I’ve often prayed that he would share his incredible compassion and commitment with me.
Where else?
I’ve known time in my life where I’ve wandered off, and tried to live life my own way, on my own terms. But ultimately, I’ve always come back to God and asked for his forgiveness and renewal. Why? Because Jesus is everything to me! I believe that on the day that Jesus saved me He started to live inside me through the Holy Spirit, changing me from the inside and giving me new desires. It’s a struggle of wills at times, and I hold on to things that I should really let go of, but step by step, Jesus is making me like Him.
So when I make foolish mistakes and forget who I am in Christ, my rebellion is only temporary. You see, the desire inside me to please God and be a reflection of his greatness is just too great. It’s like a spoon deciding one day to try and live life as a tin-opener – to do so is meaningless, pointless and fruitless! As Simon Peter put it ‘Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life.’