The Beauty Of Christian Life

The happiest person ever walked on the face of this earth is Jesus Christ. This doesn’t mean that He was the wealthiest, healthiest, most handsome and most influential person ever lived! But the joy of his life was centred completely on his trust in his Father (God Almighty). Jesus was not moved by any of those worldly factors which we often consider to be the reasons for someone to be happy or sad. Though Jesus was living in this world, he was motivated and driven by another principle that was not of this world. He had lived in this world as a normal human being though He was God, forsaking all godly resources he had, to become a forerunner for us to follow (Hebrews 6:20).

The Bible says, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). So, God, the Father, has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name! If Jesus had used his divine power for himself to live, He would not have been our example. He used it to bless many people at different occasions whenever it was needed. The Bible says, he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). God has revealed to us the mystery of living a holy life through the life of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:21).

We have an example to look up on. In the old covenant, they had written word and commandments to follow. Those were like a map or guidelines for someone to journey towards a certain place. In the new covenant, we have a person as a role model who walked before us to the destination. What would be easy, to follow a person or to follow a map? Jesus was never seen gloomy, long faced, depressed or upset, seeking honour of men, loose talking, worrying about one hundred or more things including money, when he was in the flesh. He was at perfect rest. He was the humblest man that ever walked on the face of the earth. He taught us how to live an overcoming life. A life of perpetual joy and humility.

No religion in the world can teach us how to be holy. They would probably succeed in making a person externally good but could never make a person inwardly holy and humble. This is not about a personality development programme. What I am talking is about the total transformation of a person inwardly and outwardly. No human invented psychological techniques can do it but only the Almighty God can make it. No other book on the face of this earth teaches it but only the BIBLE.

Let us look at some facts of the old covenant (before Jesus Christ).

None of the great men of God who lived in the old covenant could ever claim that they were holy and godly inwardly. They were very often defeated terribly in their private lives by anger, depression, fear, lust of all kinds, approval and honour of men, love of money and pleasures, etc. They could keep a very good external testimony before the world because they honoured the Law of God. The nation of Israel was highly disciplined in moral values in the whole world because of the commandments God had given to them. But the Law could not make anyone holy or humble inwardly (Romans 8:3). God had tried them for 1500 years (approx.) in the old covenant. They could not produce themselves what God wanted from them. That is the reason God has promised another covenant through His prophets in the old covenant (Hebrews 8:7-9).

The Scripture says, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). In Exodus 20 we read about the Ten Commandments of God, all of them start with ‘Thou (you)’ but in the new covenant we read it in Hebrews 8:10-12 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more”. Notice the difference here, where God used ‘Thou’ in the old covenant, He used ‘I (God)’ in the new covenant.