Jesus is our finest example of love.
Even atheists view our Lord as humanity’s model of caring protection. They may not believe he’s the Son of the Eternal Father, but they can agree that the Savior represented an ideal of compassion that’s never been equaled in the world’s record books.
For a prime example of the Master’s goodness, read the passage in John 18 where Jesus faced the betrayer, Judas, in the garden. Jesus knew his fate. He stepped front and center when the soldiers swarmed the garden, bringing with them the chief priests and the Pharisees, menacingly surrounding Jesus and his disciples. Jesus was prepared to take the full brunt of the soldiers’ ire to spare his followers any retribution.
Then the Christ went further. Peter stood to defend his Lord, cutting off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. In his kindness, Jesus reprimanded him, telling Peter to put away his sword. As the story goes, Jesus even healed his enemy’s injury.
What better love is there, than to do good to those we know are about to crucify us?
But, see, here’s the thing: God has all the power. Jesus was our example of the purity of heaven come to reside on the earth, but God still has all the power. God’s servants bear a portion of that power. Read in Romans 13:4:
“For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”
This verse references the average Joe human who’s in authority over us. Not necessarily even Christian, just the one who happens to be in power at the moment. He or she is the servant of God, with power to bring restitution on the Christian who violates society’s rules.
Then we have Christ, who is God’s ultimate servant for our good. Jesus wants nothing more than to show his concern for God’s creation and to reveal the depths of heaven’s majesty to each of us. How much sharper must be the sword he carries if we choose to walk the broad way that leads to sin and destruction?
If we don’t choose Christ, we need to be afraid, very afraid, for one day the sword will fall, and everyone will be held accountable for how they’ve lived while on the earth. Salvation is our answer. It’s in Jesus that we are spiritually bonded to the Father, and in him that we can place our trust. Truly, Jesus is our place of compassion, and his arms are there to draw us in.
When we rest our hand in Christ’s, we no longer need to worry where we’ll make our final home.
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