2 Jesus
Screwtape writes:
“For the real presence of the enemy, otherwise experienced by men in prayer and sacrament, we substitute a merely probable, remote, shadowy and uncouth figure, one who spoke a strange language and died a long time ago.” [The Screwtape Letters, p 118]
The devil is not worried if we know about Jesus. If we think of Jesus as a figure who was just a great moral teacher, a prophet or a faith healer, the devil is not unduly concerned. He thinks it is better still if we remake Jesus to be whatever we want: a revolutionary, a mystic, or ‘a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man’ (Elton John); the man who married Mary Magdalene or the gentle Jesus meek-and-mild of Victorian hymns.
Similarly, the devil would have us think that since Jesus lived a long time ago in a society very different from ours, that we really cannot know anything much about him.
What the devil does not want is for us to know Jesus as Lord and God, as the one who loves us and gave himself up for us. The Jesus who promises forgiveness and new life to sinners is deeply abhorrent to the devil.
But the evidence for this in the Bible is strong. Not long after Jesus’ death and resurrection his followers were giving him all sorts of exalted names and titles: Lamb of God, good shepherd, new Adam, rock of ages, and morning star. Nobody gave names like this to other prophets. And Jesus was not content with a passive response from his followers. He calls us to renounce our old lives – to die – and to follow him; He calls us to take his message to the ends of the earth.
What is Jesus to you? Is he just a teacher or a friend or a wise man? Or is he Lord of your life, the one who died in your place to set you free and to give you abundant life? Is he at the centre of all you are and do?
What do you think about the Christ? Matthew 22: 42 [NIV]
Lord Jesus, help me to see you as you really are. Comfort me and disturb me with your presence, and help me to follow you wherever you go. Amen.
David Long
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