I was thinking about the term spirituality. People use that word ( I used
to myself) rather than boldly say, “I am a Christian”. but you can be very
spiritual and not obedient to the one and only God and certainly not know Jesus
as God’s only begotten Son whom He raised from the dead. I was listening to a
sermon in which the pastor was sharing how difficult it is for many people who
are Christians to actually say the word, Jesus. They say things like, “God
bless, in God we pray, under God, I believe in God...” but not often do we hear
or say outside of church, “In Jesus name, Jesus blessed us,” or even “Jesus is
the Son of God”. Using the god term, we express a unity of tolerance to
different beliefs who also use the god term, but just like there are many
mothers, there is only one mother which gave birth to me or to you.
Interesting isn’t it. I find myself having this difficulty, I think it was
the mysticism attached to the supernatural devine aspect of Jesus. God in
heaven is conceptualized as unseen and only felt or experienced, but
Jesus....well that is a whole other concept of a man/God. That brings to mind
some of the Greek and Roman gods who were never seen walking this earth, only
imagined like a unicorn is an imagined creature: a unicorn can be drawn or
cartooned but it is not a real living breathing creature. And the understanding
that we, too, can have the power to heal and to forgive if we plug into God
through Holy Spirit....well that is just mind boggling!
Jesus was a real living breathing man who walked this earth 2000 years ago
and who lived an earthly life until around age 33. His birth to a virgin was
known only by attestation of his mother, Mary and her husband, Joseph whom they
shared with others who believed them and who knew God the Father through their
special relationship to Him via the prophets and the Word.
His death on the cross was significant not because an innocent man was put
to death (that has happened many times) but because of what his death produced
(an atoning death...payment in entirety of our debt of sin) and because of the
renewal to life brought about by his resurrection and ascension; witnessed by
hundreds.
So to say with our mouths that Jesus is Lord is not so easy, it is
actually easier to believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Our
heart beliefs don’t necessarily have to be shared verbally. We step towards
that sharing in our behaviors towards others and towards ourselves. That is why
faith is an action word. With only a mustard seed of faith, we have what we
need to actively plant the Word and care for the seed until it grows into a huge
tree and spreads its own seeds.