Frank's Cottage

Maybe that’s your impression of Jesus followers. Maybe you think they’re fixated on death.

Hey, there’s another one of their churches with a cross on it that they claim Jesus died on.

Every time one of those people gets on TV or radio or the internet, they’re talk about Jesus dying. Man, that’s getting old.

Yes, in the culture we all live in, the idea of a divine son of God (that’s who many people believe Jesus is) being sacrificed for the moral crimes of humanity is downright offensive.

We’re all doing just fine, right? We haven’t ran over anyone with our car or robbed a bank or given anyone AIDS, so what’s the problem?

This is where it gets controversial. And this is why serious Jesus followers appear to “celebrate” death.

People who are genuine about following Jesus know that there’s a lot more to “doing fine” than avoiding prison or causing death. Those are just the big-ticket, headline-grabbing wrongs.

How about greed? How big a TV do we actually need?  Another iPad? Wasn’t the last one good enough? Hang on, a double garage and a big driveway just isn’t enough for your boat AND your trailer AND your three vehicles? Uh, didn’t you just go on a cruise last year?

How about a lack of generosity? Why don’t those people take care of themselves? I’m not giving to poverty in Haiti — there’s poverty right here in North America!! (Uh, there’s a GIGANTIC difference between poverty here and poverty there.)

How about living your life as if God doesn’t exist? Genuine Jesus followers believe the words of one of the original source documents of His life, that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life”. Furthermore, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain” (communicated to us through an ancient prophet).

So, if you give these words any credibility, then those quotes above indicate that God does, indeed, care about YOU and deeply wants to be part of YOUR life. So is it wrong to live like He doesn’t exist? I would say yes.

Now consider Jesus followers’ supposed “fixation” with death. What it’s really about — that this atheist graphic conveniently ignores — is that for those who believe in and truly follow Jesus, His sacrificial death erases all the bad things we’ve done and all the good things we’ve failed to do. For those who follow Jesus seriously, God sees us like He sees His Son: pure, without the slightest imperfection.

So the “fixation” is really about the results of Jesus’ death. It’s about something else, too. Serious Jesus followers believe the ancient documents when they say that Jesus came back to life just a few days later — and in doing so, wiped out the permanence of death for all who believe in Him.

So, in fact, what’s happening is opposite to the graphic. Genuine Jesus followers are celebrating LIFE. And it’s a life that’s available to EVERYONE, no matter who they are, no matter what they’ve done (or not done).

Does this make sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.