By Bruce Schlenke ——
Is Jesus not enough? This isn’t a question for persons outside the Christian faith. People who do not “have” Jesus, i.e. who do not trust in Jesus Christ through a relationship of faith and following, are empty of Him. Jesus does not hold sway in their lives, does not impress them with His authority nor captivate them with His love.
Is Jesus not enough? That’s a question to be asked of us who identify ourselves as Christians. Jesus is the object of our faith – God in the flesh providing His sinless self as an atonement for the wrongs our hands have done and our hearts have conceived. But, is that all?
Is Jesus not enough? Do we need a charismatic star with gleaming teeth and thick wavy hair? Do we need a healed body or a ticket from bankruptcy? More sunny days than cloudy could improve our attitude … Obedient children and pets would ease things … Do we require state-of-the-current-art game rooms in order to hear God’s voice? Or a huge national flag wrapped over our rallies for God?
Is Jesus not enough? Please consider the definitive words of Paul the Apostle: “Christ Jesus
is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… He is before all things and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15 & 17). Let us not grant competitive balance to pious pastors or celebrity Christian writers/publishers. Is Jesus not enough? “Christ Jesus
is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy.” (Colossians 1:18).
Is Jesus not enough? No. Absolutely He is! “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:19). Let us realize who we are in Christ. The God of the universe has come to us in perfect and powerful human form and offered to take up residence in us who believe, in us who by faith trust Christ Jesus with our lives today and with our futures. Again, it’s Paul who teaches that the good news of Jesus is the central point of light in the Christian’s life: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).
Friends in Christ, realize the only Savior that you have and the singular message that you bear.
