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By Benjamin H. Liles

          Believe me when I say I know it's been a while since I've written anything on faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Yet, I want to quote two very different men who had seen the risen Lord Jesus. The first being John Mark, who wrote his gospel narrative we know as the Gospel of Mark, wrote, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45, Berean Study).

         The second is Paul writing to Timothy, saying, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testifieed in due time" (1 Timothy 2:5-6, New King James). Do you sincerely want to know why Jesus went to the cross at Calvary? Love. It's not the same kind of love we have for our mothers and fathers, not even for our brother or sister, or even from a man to his wife. It's the kind of love that would do everything it can to save a life.

          Think about those who take on more serious roles in life such as a doctor, a nurse, maybe even those who work in the fire department. They put their credentials, their all, their hearts on the line so the rest of us have a fighting chance. Those who risk life, limb and serious injury some times even death such as those fire fighters do so not for a paycheck. Here's an interesting fact for you, the reader: fire fighters make an average of four thousand a month, which comes to around $48k/year. And this is according to payscale.com. Per hour that comes to about $23.54 (round about).

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          Now take this as a sobering thought: when Christ gave his life at the cross he didn't receive any fanfare. No. He received death. Why? God cannot and will not look upon sin. Does this mean some how in his earthly life Jesus himself sinned? Not at all. Let's look at a few reqiorements of what it takes to appease God the Father in terms of sinfulness. Moses wrote in Exodus, "Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats" (Exodus 12:5, New American Standard).


          Peter writing to the Church wrote, "but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Peter 1:19). John, the beloved disciple of Christ, bore witness in his gospel account attested, "[John, who baptized beyond the Jordan at Bethany, v. 28] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the lamd of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29, New King James).

          I know there are other folks who make even less than a fire fighter, who would put their life and livelihood on the line for others, but the point of this article is to show that God's idea of favoritism isn't right. Paul wrote, "God does not show favoritism" (Romans 2:11). Again to those at Ephesus, he wrote, "There is no favoritism with him" (Ephesians 6:9). God's idea of justice is that anyone who does wrong will be paid according to that wrong; "there is no favoritism" (Colossians 3:25).

          There is a verse that reads, "He has told you, O mankind, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8, Berean Study). I know I've used this verse many times, but it bears worth repeating: if we are to love as Jesus did we must be willing to take a look at how He lived, and to bear each other's burdens regardless what others do to us. He humbled himself, so mcuh so he took our punishment, which was death. He extended mercy as He cried out on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!" (Luke 23:34). Even as he died on that cross Jesus was just toward us as well especially when he declared, "It is finished" (John 19:30).

Conclusion

           The mercy God gives to all is given to all as they choose to ebelieve and even disbelieve. It's all a choice. We either accept the evidence of what has been given to us by those who have gone before us. As I end this think on the lives of those who gave their rights and freedom up so you could live here in America, or even say Australia, maybe perhaps Britain or even Israel. There's a lot of hatred for those within the borders of those countries. Christ forewarned, "You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22).

         The whole of this article isn't a debate on the historicity of Jesus or that he was a teacher and even a prophet, but to clarify the point of who he is: the only begotten Son of the Most High God. As is written and spelled out in John's gospel, "But as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:!2). Lastly, in this same book, we read, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:18).

          That's all there is to it. Take the evidence, process it as an investigator does with a crime scene. Look it over, dust it for fingerprints, talk to those witnesses (read their testimonies in the pages of the Bible), and you will find yourself engaged in this account of the story of Jesus of Nazareth. He came, born of a virgin woman, not to bring peace by force as if an invading army, but to bring peace by submitting himself to the cross: so that mankind has life in and with God the Father. Take it or leave it.