But What?

But I came to give life—life that is full and good. John 10:10 ERV
But you refuse to come to me to have that life. John 5:40 ERV

You can’t help but ask the obvious question. Why? The leaders of the church in Jesus’ time knew everything, or at least they thought they did. They knew their scriptures inside out and back to front, and this Jesus was obviously an imposter. They could see it, and they questioned anyone else that thought differently. They never stopped being taught, even when they became Scribes and Pharisees. The trouble is they never really learned. We can see that being the case in secular life, so why not in the synagogue?

The parallel is uncannily similar today, and the question is the same. Given the promise of real, full, abundant life for free, why would anyone turn their back on it? The Pharisees couldn’t see it and today there are those who know better, both in the general church and outside it. It’s not that the gift of life isn’t offered in our day and age because it is, and the cost is the same, it is a free gift. Full life for the living is free.

We have advanced in so many ways since Jesus’ day. Science and technology have taken over, and we can talk our way out of anything. That last part hasn’t changed from the Pharisees’ day. The biggest difference today is that we may have convinced ourselves that Jesus was an imposter, or a lunatic, or a liar. Maybe a bit of all three. This is made easier since society has downgraded church and Jesus to a mere side show. When you dismiss the gospel of Jesus Christ, His life, death and resurrection, you can ignore anything He might have said. In fact, you can ignore all of the Bible as a fairy tale.

If you were offered a gift of something you wanted and needed greatly, wouldn’t you at least give the giver a chance by taking the gift and seeing if it is true? Are you so arrogant and sure of yourself that you would turn away from it without a second thought? We haven’t come very far as a human race since Jesus’ time, and I suggest we are no different today.