By Power Point Paradise. Originally posted here.
2000 years ago this year, around 10 AD, Jesus was about 13-14 years old, and it would take him another 16 years in obscurity before he would begin to make His mark on our history. And what an indelible mark it was! If anyone would ask, “Who was the most famous person that ever lived?”, the most likely answer almost anybody would give would not be Hitler or Napoleon or even Adam, but… Jesus Christ.
What did He ever do to deserve this mark of fame (or notoriety, depending on where you’re coming from), He wasn’t in the public eye more than three years! He was no politician, scientist, or even some great scholar, nor a mere “magician” as His contemporary enemies the Pharisees, accused Him of using “magical powers.” (Notice that they didn’t deny the miracles!)
Jesus was a simple carpenter’s son and apprentice, who went humbly about His business in an obscure region called Galilee. He wasn’t trying to become famous, like many young people today aspire to become a “star!” No. He actually often escaped the limelight.
The first thing that catapulted Him into “fame” was a miracle He did at a wedding party in Cana, after the guests had finished off the wine. Obviously Jesus was not a blue-nosed moralist preacher, like some law-worshiping fundamentalist who–if they would had lived then–would have been out promoting the Pharisees, like they do today!
No, Jesus was a libertarian of sorts who didn’t seem to mind people going “overboard” a bit in a friendly family wedding environment, to have some good clean fun, eating and drinking, considering what He did.
His mother actually pushed him into it, by telling him, “Jesus, they have no more wine!” He retorted, “Woman, what have I to do with you! My time has not yet come!” But it didn’t faze Mary, as she faithfully instructed the servants, “Do whatever He tells you to do!” Jesus was quite on the spot!
Well most of you know the story; He told them to fill six sizable waterpots for cleaning purposes with water, and after it was done, he told them to draw out some and take it to the Master of Ceremonies, who tasted it surprised. Then he almost blamed the bridegroom for keeping the “good wine” until last, not knowing where it had come from.
News of this ‘down to earth’ miracle spread like wildfire throughout Galilee! “Jesus the carpenter’s son from Nazareth, changed 6 waterpots of water into fine wine!”
Now, why this story as a prelude to the question, “Is Jesus Christ still relevant today?” Because it puts Jesus into a very human light which He preferred to be in, a normal man, a friend of sinners and tax collectors on the one hand, who didn’t avoid wine parties, but who on the other hand was also the greatest world changer this world ever brought forth. And that is relevant today!
In this day when God’s spirituality is demonized by godless mainstream media and His enemies, the legacy of the humble wine-maker and World changer still counts. Jesus never attended church. He sometimes went into synagogues to teach, these being daily gathering places for the people. Yet he preferably went into these halls on the Jewish Holy Day to break their law by “working” miracles to heal handicapped people! Apart from teaching almost anywhere he could get a crowd willing to listen. He was an unpaid itinerary preacher, a volunteer.
What made him the most famous? His miracles for one. But especially the hope and mercy He extended to the by religionists browbeaten masses of regular sinners who couldn’t attain to the high standards of the high falutin’ religious leaders. He gave the normal people love, hope and liberty from the rules, the Law! He told them that instead the greatest thing they could do was to just love God and love their neighbor as they loved themselves.
And right there, that was the very thing that catapulted Him into everlasting fame. History had already brought forth great erudite thinkers and moralists like Confucius, Buddha, Socrates and Plato, but none of these had made the essence of successful living so simple and so easy to grasp, though so hard to live!–Without God’s help!
He told them that they didn’t need any religious law or any religious observance other than loving their Creator the God of Love and loving the people around them. Now this not only made Him world famous, but put Him at odds with law-abiding Judaism/Talmudism and all great monotheistic religions, including law-abiding Christianity itself, and law-observing Islam!
Why! Because it made all the religious rigmarole obsolete. This simple truth of love was the monkey wrench into the religious machinery. Then! And still today! And that‘s the reason why Jesus Christ is still relevant today! The two are opposites. He is relevant and the rigmarole obsolete!
But people are still being controlled by religious political bodies which need members and money to grow ever more powerful so they can influence history more and leave a greater mark by building more buildings in more cities and more followers spreading their doctrines. But who today is still preaching that simple message of Jesus Himself, of loving God and others as yourselves ? And is that message still relevant today? Of course it is!
Today, like here in the East, one of the foremost causes of death is what? Suicide! Even people with jobs are so depressed and lonely that they jump off buildings or the like. If they would have only met Jesus today and heard His message of living for love, they would have found a much better reason to live. Something that would inspire them to share with others and thus get happier.
That was Jesus’ solution to the problems of life then, and still today! Forget yourself and just start loving somebody around you with all your heart, mind and soul, and might! And then God will inspire you with that intangible presence of His loving Spirit, as He pours into us when we pour out His Love to others.
The greatest lovers feel the most loved! Love is contagious! Love is inspiring! Love is the answer to all of our problems. No matter if the economy is crashing around our ears, or whether the warmongers attack Iran this summer, or that we will all be out of a job tomorrow. Love is the only thing that is going to pull us through.
Jesus is extremely relevant. Tomorrow when the supermarkets are empty and looted, we are going to need a lot of love to pull together to organize society in spite of our selfish feelings and antagonistic attitudes to others. If we don’t… we might get killed, or massacred, or robbed. We are going to need to love each other to pull through this historical knot hole of the Last Days which are promised to become pretty severe.
So much so, that Jesus instructed us “to endure unto the End!” To not give up or take our own lives and give up in despair. No! In these difficult days, and I promise they are going to be very difficult, we are going to have to stick together and organize ourselves and work together to find solutions with God’s miraculous help to find water, food, healing, and inspiration and brotherhood. If we don’t? The wolves are onto us!
So is Jesus Christ still relevant today in 2010? More so than ever before in history! Now things are coming to the crunch. Now things are changing so dramatically in these last few years before the end of the commercial money system, when Jesus returns and rescues us out of this ensuing mess. Now we need Him more than ever before.
We are all learning in a hurry, in this late, intensive training course of the hard facts of life that bankers are robbing our nations blind, that we can never trust in money, riches, politicians and other powerful people. They are either the robbers themselves or paid and ordered around by them. There are hardly any more trustworthy leaders that we can fall behind. We are learning that awfully fast.
The banks are cheating us, the oil companies are polluting us, the Big Pharma boys are trying to vaccinate us with dangerous chemicals and God-knows-what to make billions, and many scientists are bought by the Global Warming lobby to tax us to death! Who can you still trust? Hardly anybody…but Jesus!
He is very relevant because, as Paul said, “He is able to save us unto the uttermost!” He is not a silent inactive God. If we get on our prayer bones and demand some action, He is more than willing to oblige and answer those sincere humble prayers for help. And with God anything is possible! As Jesus said, “With God ALL things are possible!”
So is He relevant? Oh yes! The rocks of society that we trusted in yesterday, are fast crumbling under us today, and there is no other way to look but UP! “Salvation is of the Lord!” He is the only one that can save us in these dire hours. Don’t expect any free hand-outs from the Powers-That-Be. They are purposely bringing on this great confusion and all the misery, while they have made themselves hiding places in underground cave- and tunnel-systems to hide in until our calamities are over-past, as they expect us to all murder each other on the Earth’s surface and reduce world population for them. Let’s give them a surprise shall we? True! “A thousand shall fall at your right hand, and ten thousand at your left, but it will not come close to you!” IF you are trusting in God to see you through this coming storm.
If we go our own way? We will fall by the way side, even if we are a child of God, we will still get to Heaven. And maybe that is what some prefer. (me too at times.) But what does God expect from us? He expects us to stand strong and to support each other through these tough times. As the saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” So trust in God and His relevant son Jesus today! May God bless us all with safety and supply through difficult times.
“A PERFECT DAY IS COMING BY AND BY,
A day of peace and freedom from all care.
With all the good for which our spirits sigh,
And not a cloud to dim that sky so fair!
When morning dawns, farewell to Earthly sorrow!
Farewell to all these troubles of today!
There’ll be no pain, no death in God’s tomorrow,
When morning dawns and shadows flee away!
“SO TRUST IN GOD, HOWEVER DARK YOUR WAY!–
And wait with patience for that Morn to break!
Hold to His hand until the break of day!
When in His likeness we shall there awake!
When morning dawns, farewell to Earthly sorrow!
Farewell to all these troubles of today!
There’ll be no pain, no death in God’s tomorrow,
When morning dawns and shadows flee away!
“HOW LITTLE THEN THESE TRIALS OF LIFE WILL SEEM!
How light the heavy burdens we have borne;
The deepest sorrow, like a passing dream,
Will be forgotten in that blessed morn!
When morning dawns, farewell to Earthly sorrow!
Farewell to all these troubles of today!
There’ll be no pain, no death (Weeps) in God’s tomorrow,
When morning dawns and shadows flee away!”
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