A Unique Savior
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Joy at 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart’s "miraculous" return to her Utah family gave way on Thursday to efforts to unravel the mystery of her nine-month ordeal, apparently at the hands of a street preacher who claimed he was a prophet who talked to angels.
Police and family members said the quiet, blond teen -- abducted at gunpoint from her bedroom in her affluent Salt Lake City home last June -- had traveled across the country, often camping out, and may have been brainwashed by her captors.
Smart was reunited with her family on Wednesday after police received a tip from two people in a store just miles from the girl’s home.
Can you imagine the agony of those nine months while their daughter was lost? Can you imagine all the horrible dreams and the visions of what might have happened? Can you imagine coming to the conclusion that she must be dead and trying to get on with your life?
I can’t either, but I am sure that it would be a monumental test for my faith!
We don’t often face these sorts of difficulties, but our faith still flounders once in a while, doesn’t it? You’re having trouble trusting in God, believing this whole business about his love when nothing’s going right. You just don’t feel like studying his Word, praying or doing the whole “servant” thing. You’ve got the blahs – not much peace, not much joy, not much motivation. You feel like you’re just going through the motions. “What’s the use?”
Many of the Jewish Christians in the early Christian church had floundering faith, too. It was difficult to believe in Jesus. Nobody liked Christians. In fact, Christians were getting beat up, even killed for their faith more and more every day. And people got away with it, too, because Christianity was not a government-approved religion.
But the old Jewish religion, Judaism, was still legal. Nobody seemed to pick on the Jews for their beliefs. Nobody beat them up or killed them. How easy it would be to reject this whole Jesus thing and go back to Judaism. Nobody would notice them. Life would go back to normal. The Jewish Christians wanted to believe in Jesus, but it was so hard.
That’s why the author of Hebrews wrote his letter. He encouraged the Jewish Christians not to give up on Jesus, because Jesus is unique, something you can’t find anywhere else.
Hebrews 1:1-13 1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
He is God’s final word
Millions of people today believe that Jesus was a great rabbi who had a few good ideas, but nothing more. He was just another prophet among thousands. God says something different in our lesson. Verse 2 again, “In these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things.” Jesus isn’t just another prophet; he is THE prophet, God’s FINAL WORD.
Before Jesus, God gave revelations here and there – a glimpse here, a vision there. But, when Jesus came, God said all he wanted to say. Do you want to know what God has to say about sin? Look at Jesus. Do you want to know what God has to say about you? Look at Jesus.
In fact, you cannot see God without seeing Jesus. You cannot be a follower of God without Jesus. Many religions claim that we all worship the same God, but if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have God. Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes the Father except through me.” And “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” He is unique because he is the only way to know God.
Why do I tell you this? Because we are so guilty of ignoring it! If Jesus is our only way to God of the Universe who dispenses punishment and reward, why do we listen to him so seldom? We have a lot of excuses, very few of them are good. “I’m too busy.” How can we spend an hour fiddling on the Internet, reading the gossip and the arrest reports in the newspaper, but then say we’re too busy to listen to our unique Savior? How can we spend an hour watching reality TV or playing the Game cube and then say we have too many important things to accomplish to pray? How can we rise early for every hunting trip and breakfast at Hardees but not consistently make it for worship because it’s too early? How can we read 3 John Grishom books, Reader’s digest, TV Guide and then say we don’t have time for a devotion? There’s nothing wrong with doing most of these things, but to say they keep us from our unique Savior is foolish. He is the only way to God. He is our only hope of peace with our Creator and life in heaven. How foolish to go through life without that unique voice in our lives.
It’s like men who try to go through life without directions. Don’t step above this rung on the ladder - what do they know? Find yourself flat on your back. Snowblower – picture of a hand with fingers sliced off. Ignore it. So foolish to ignore directions. So foolish to think we can do life without Jesus, our unique Savior, God’s final word.
But Jesus is worth listening to because he is even more than that.
He is God in the flesh
When I was a kid, we kept bugging our bus driver to tell us if he believed in God (little evangelists). Finally, he told us, “I am God.” We were like, “Yeah, right. Like God would be driving a little yellow school bus for $7.50 an hour!”
What would God do if he were here on this earth? Well, look at verse 3 again, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…” Jesus is not only God’s final word, He’s God in the flesh, the exact representation of God the Father. He’s true man and true God all in one. That makes him unique.
In fact, that makes him really unique when you think about it. If he’s God, then he’s a pretty humble God. Crammed into the womb of a Carpenter’s wife, catapulted into a cold world, coddled by cattle in a manger. Touching a leprous man covered in seeping sores. Sighing at the misfortune of a blind man. Embracing a prostitute and a cheat. Talking to Samaritan woman (Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans and important men didn’t talk to women, but Jesus did). Shedding tears at the tomb of his friend. Holding little children in his hands. Befriending a bunch of hicks from Galilee.
Bleeding buckets of blood, turning the cheek, flogged for our failures, carrying our cross, suffering our shame, paying the price for our sins.
And remember, he’s God in the flesh. “Like God would be driving a little yellow school bus for $7.50 an hour.” I don’t know…He did humble himself to death, even death on a cross. And he did it for you. If that doesn’t make him unique, I don’t know what does. If that doesn’t make him worth following, I don’t know what does.
I know that most of you have heard the tragic story of Deputy Shannon from Adam’s county. When a situation came up, he was so eager to help. He was heading home from work, but, as the paper reported, “he offered to assist at the scene. He said, ‘I’ll help,’ and there he went. He answered the call.” A few minutes later, he was dead. So quick to serve. Jesus is God in the flesh, and yet he also is so quick to serve.
There’s your motivation when your faith flounders, when you’ve got the spiritual blahs. Jesus is God in the flesh. He’s not just any God, he’s your God and your brother. He touches you, he sighs at your pain, he forgives you, he takes you up in his arms and comforts you. He knows what you are going through because he’s human, and he can help you like no one else because he’s God.
A school board in Rhode Island did an exhaustive search for a new principle. After meeting with several candidates, they held a press conference. The president of the board walked to a microphone and said, “After finding no qualified candidates for the position of principal, the school board is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. David Steele to the position.”
My friends, Jesus is qualified for his position as our Savior. He is God’s final word and God in the flesh. He is Unique. He is worth following.
Get to know him better. Even if you give him five minutes a day in study and prayer to start with, he will bless it. Then grow from there. Lately, I’ve heard an awful lot of people say, “I can’t find any devotions or studies that aren’t boring.” First of all, God’s Word is never boring when you listen. Second, you haven’t looked around very much. There has been no greater time of Christian publishing than the present. As the eighth graders said the other day, “Just chill with God.” He is the unique cure for your spiritual blahs. He is the one who fills you with peace, joy and motivation for life.
