He was fascinated by these ants and suddenly, as he observed, he saw the farmer plowing the field. He was aware that shortly the ant hill would be plowed up with the rest of the field. In his concern, he was searching for a way to com municate a warning to them. It would be impossible for them to hear his voice or heed his warning. The only way for them to hear his voice or heed his warning would be if he could become an ant. This was impossible. This is exactly what God has done for us. God has come to earth in the form of a man, Jesus of Naz areth, in order that man might understand how to be restored to fellowship with the God who loves him and in turn yearns for his love. As one studies the various re ligions, one discovers that religion shackles men. It becomes the opiate of the people, restricting, limiting, inhibiting man. On the other hand, Christ sets man free, bringing new life and new hope. We are not writing this article to emphasize the values of religion or even the benefits of Christian ity; but rather, we are writing in order to introduce men and women to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. Sometime ago, Arnold Toynbee was speaking at Stanford, and he said, “ The average person has not rejected Christianity, but a carica ture of it—a poor imitation.” This was my experience. When I went to college, I discovered that what I had was no longer adequate. It was not until later that I found out whv. My religion had been but a caricature — Churchianity, no t Christianity. It was not adequate for my needs. Almost 10 years ago, after sev eral vears of agnosticism, I heard a message similar to what you are reading now. Immediately I real ized how wrong I had been. You see, I had never before really heard
the truth concerning Jesus of Naz areth. Doubtless, many of you have had the same experience. You say, “This is interesting. Tell me more.” The Bible tells us of a holy and righteous God, One Who is eter nally aflame with goodness and love. The Bible also tells us that man was created to have fellowship with this God, but because of man’s stubborn self-will he broke this fellowship to go his own indepen dent way. This independent spirit resulting in broken fellowship with God, the Bible defines as sin. And the Bible says that, “ A l l have sinned and come short of the glory of God . . . [And] The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” You will observe, we are not say ing that sin is getting drunk or kill ing or being immoral. These are only the results of sin. I think when we come to under stand this our problem is vastly narrowed. To come to God we need not battle the mistakes and failures and despair of the past. Since sin is going our own way, the solution to our problem is simply to be will ing to be willing to go God’s way. And God’s way is Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and that no man can come to God but by Christ. Thus Christ frees us from hav ing to pay the penalty of our sins and likewise frees us from being slaves to the results of sin, enabling us to live lives that are honoring to God. Now you say, “ This is what I need. I have been like a man on the desert, thirsty for water, and al ways before me there has been the mirage of a clear, cool, sparkling oasis; but when I arrive it is only the parched desert sand. How can I find Him?” you say. In Revela tion 3:20, Christ says, “ Behold, I stand at the door [the door of your heart and of your life] and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Then in John 1:12 we are told that to as many as received Christ, God gave them the power (or right) to become His sons. It is not enough to believe about Christ; one must know Him per sonally. In the third chapter of John, Christ is speaking to Nicodemus, a religious leader of his day. As far as the law was concerned, he was without reproach. He was moral and ethical. He came seeking help from Jesus and in reply to his searching question, Christ told Nic odemus that the only way he could see or enter the kingdom of God was by being bom into this spirit ual kingdom. He went on to say that we were born once in flesh, but to enter the kingdom of God, we must be bom of the Spirit. Take for example a caterpillar crawling in the dust, an ugly, hairy worm. One day this worm weaves about its body a cocoon. Out of this cocoon emerges a butterfly. We do not understand f u l l y what has taken place. We only know that where once a worm has crawled in the dust, now a butterfly soars in the heavens. So it is in the life of a Christian. Where once we lived on the lowest level, we now dwell on the highest plane, experiencing a full and abundant life. Perhaps a better way to illustrate one’s commitment to Christ is the analogy of marriage. Suppose you are in love. You believe this one to possess all those qualities which make for a perfect mate. Will the fact that you believe these things be sufficient to consummate the ceremony? No, it is consummated only when you both stand before the minister and each commits his life to the other . . . when you say “ Yes” to the minister’s inquiry. Are you ready to say “Yes” to Christ now? This is the most im portant decision you will ever make. END.
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THE K IN G 'S BU SINESS
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