SCRIPTURE: John 3:16-21
Even if you deny all the supernatural stuff about Jesus (being God incarnate, miracles, resurrection), His moral teaching and practice of Jesus should be enough to convince us He is ‘out of this world’.
But doesn’t the Dalai Lama teach and practice the same?
In some ways his moral teaching and practice do echo that of Jesus.
But a critical difference, I think, lies in the fact that Jesus didn’t flee oppression or injustice.
He walked into the world, into Jerusalem (the occupied Tibet of His day), knowing He would die.
And He did so not out of anger or spite, but out of love, love for the very people oppressing Him.
Jesus took love, mercy, humility, forgiveness, self-sacrifice to a degree that no human ever has, or will.
Jesus did not just die AT the hands of other humans, but FOR the sake of the humans that killed him.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)
But what about Mahatma Gandhi, didn’t he do this too?
Yes, there are some similarities between Jesus and Ghandi.
But Ghandi himself gives credit to Jesus for his inspiration and example.
I respect both of these men, each in their own way, but Jesus stands out over both.
He is the standard by which we measure and evaluate these men, and all people.
The reason people reject Jesus is because they don’t want to follow His moral teaching and practice.
We dismiss the brightness of Jesus love because it exposes the dullness of ours.
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
Even if you disagree with all the supernatural stuff, you are still left with His supernatural love.
This is really what people do not want to accept, because it reveals their own inadequate love.
Am I prepared to love this far, to forgive this much, to die for someone who hates me?
By the way, this supernatural love is what helps me believe in God, in Jesus as God in the flesh, in the miracles and resurrection of Jesus.
This supernatural love is why I have hope for myself, and for the world.
What hope do you have?
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, I can’t imagine myself loving like this. Yet I know this love is the key to saving the world. Your love inspires me with hope, and assures me there is a power in the Universe able to fix our broken, messed up world.