Since Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth, I might as well write about its importance in my life. It's amazing to think how much of an impact one man has had on the history of this earth, and it was really only three years of public ministry where Jesus Christ exerted any type of influence. Incredible.
Coming from a Buddhist background and very little exposure to Christianity until my eighth grade, allowed me to accept Christianity without any social or family pressures that some people face at a young age. Sometimes being cold and naturally cynical of everything around me, I didn't accept Christianity out of an emotional need at some church camp, a fiery Sunday sermon, or friendly nudges by a friend. It was a process of questioning, reading, and thinking that led me to accept the whole of Christianity since there really is no other way. I don't believe in "blind faith", so my initial acceptance of Christianity was followed by several years of further questioning, reading, and thinking. Probably why I enjoy listening and reading to C.S. Lewis and Ravi Zacharias more than Billy Graham or Charles Swindoll.
In the end, I found the Christian life to be the most difficult life to live. Far from a "crutch for the weak" as some philosophers label religion, it is difficult for a very independent and confident person to submit their will to a greater, unseen power. The Christian journey has been the most toilsome but at the same time the most joyful experience for me.
Anyway, below is an essay by an unknown writer on the life and impact of Christ. Not a great piece of writing, but gets the point across. Also below are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs by Michael Card, a Christian singer and writer. The depth of his thinking and knowledge is truly reflected in many of his songs. Merry Christmas again!
One Solitary Life
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village,
the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village, and that a despised one.
He worked in a carpenter shop for thirty years,
and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never owned a home.
He never had a family.
He never went to college.
He never put His foot inside a really big city.
He never traveled, except in His infancy,
more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born.
He had no credentials but HIMSELF.
While still a young man,
The tide of popular opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
One of them betrayed Him.
He was turned over to His enemies.
He went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed upon a Cross between two thieves.
His executors gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth,
His seamless robe.
When He was dead,
He was taken down from the cross
and laid in a borrowed grave through the courtesy of a friend.
Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone,
and today Jesus is the centerpiece of the human race,
and the leader of all human progress.
I am well within the mark when I say that
all the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that were ever built,
all the parliaments that have ever sat, and
all the kings that have ever ruled put together
have not affected the life of man upon this earth
like this one solitary personality.
All time dates from his birth,
and it is impossible to understand or interpret
the progress of human civilization in any nation on earth
apart from his influence.
Slowly through the ages man is coming to realize that
the greatest necessity in the world is not
water, iron, gold, food and clothing, or even nitrate in the soil;
but rather Christ enshrined in human hearts, thoughts and motives.
More poems have been written,
more stories told,
more pictures painted, and
more songs sung about Christ
than any other person in human history,
because through such avenues as these
the deepest appreciation of the human heart
can be more adequately expressed.
God's Own Fool
by Michael Card
Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind
For even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane
(chorus)
When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
And so we follow God's own fool
For only the foolish can tell-
Believe the unbelievable
And come be a fool as well
So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see
(chorus)
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable,
And come be a fool as well
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