Just Thinking…
We've all read the articles; we've all see the images. I read one just this week; yet another international preacher who claims he can summon angels, walk on air and cure cancer, and who happens to have accrued nearly $200 million from the bank accounts of the thousands of people who adore him. I was talking with a friend recently who once had the job of transporting visiting international Christian speakers to their speaking engagements around NZ, and was unsurprised to hear that the behaviour of many of them 'off-air' is very different to their on-stage persona ... in a bad way. Sigh. Would I be any better in their shoes? I hope so, but ... maybe not. That's what makes the life of Jesus so compelling to me - he could have had it all, but chose differently. Love. Power given to benefit others. Self-sacrifice. We read the stories of his life, many told by people who lived with him, who knew him when the spotlights weren't shining, and many who went on to die because of their belief that Jesus was truly remarkable. They wrote because they loved him and loved the people that he loved. Every day we can read these stories. Wow. Every Sunday we can gather together to share in them as we worship Jesus, and find that we encounter not just a story but the One of whom it speaks. What an amazing privilege! So, let the world chase after glitz and charisma. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.
In Him, Murray
