Let’s Be Real, Jesus Is REAL!
Last week a co-worker of mine told a joke:
Co-worker: Hey Micayla, you know about the little drummer boy right?
Me: Yeah. . . (Hoping this wasn’t going to be a bad Jesus joke.)
Co-worker: Well what if Mary had just put Jesus to sleep after a long day and the little drummer boy showed up playing his drum. (Mocking the little drummer boy: “I play my drum for you. . .ba rum bum bum bum)
Me: (Laughing) Omgsh that would be terrible! Honestly, if this was modern day Mary she would probably be like . . . Umm. . excuse me. . . (hands up emoji). . baby sleeping here! Lol.
Let’s be real, I was so glad it was joke that was actually funny and not something bashing Jesus. I was also glad I wasn’t put in an awkward position where I’d have to offend someone in order to defend my Lord, but I guess that was the whole point. If things went wrong, would I have defended the Lord, was that my place? Would that make me one of those Christians who force Jesus down peoples throats? Or, what if it went bad and I chose to be silent and not say anything? Is silence worse? Does silence mean that I support people making fun of Jesus? Where is the line divided if there is a line at all?
(Before I go off on a tangent, let me know what you think? I’d love to have this conversation with you.)
Anyway. . . about this joke:
What if the little drummer boy showed up playing his drum after Mary had just put Jesus to sleep.
Really though, how would you feel if you were Mary? I know that if it was me, I would shut that down real quick. No offense to the little drummer boy, but I mean, come on, the baby is sleeping. Jesus! <– (literally baby Jesus) However, the more I thought about it, the more REAL he became. Now, I believe in Jesus Christ and I know he died for my sins, but in that moment, IT GOT REAL. Think about it. Here is this newborn baby, who is probably crying like most babies, who is surrounded by his parents, three wise men, and is receiving gifts from people near and far because of who he is. This little baby boy would grow up to save all of our souls and forgive us of all of our sins. This child is the key to our salvation.
It really makes me think of the song What if God was one of us, because at one point he was. He was the word, in the flesh, as Jesus. God was one of us.
Hebrews 2:18- “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
Thats crazy, right?
And then to humanize it even more, he had a childhood just like you and I. He probably did annoying things and got on his siblings nerves at times, he went through puberty, had his first job, became an adult, and he was still absolutely perfect and without sin. Which means he didn’t even tell the smallest of lies. The man was PERFECT, in every sense of the word. I don’t know about you, but I’m extremely flawed so that’s pretty impressive.
Just think about his family or his mother, Mary. Im not a mother, but I can only imagine how she felt raising her baby boy, knowing how special he is. Then to watch him grow up to become the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the living Word in the flesh. That’s amazing. But also think about how much pain she felt watching her son being crucified on a cross. The heartache she felt. Imagine how God must have felt sending his only son into the World to sacrifice his life for all of us. How would you feel watching your brother or father dying to save you?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
Thats how REAL he is. . But it doesn’t stop there.
Jesus died on the cross and was buried only to rise three days later to sit at the right hand of the father in Heaven. Now that’s dope. Look at your life and think about how awesome it would be to sit next to God, the Creator of everything, just chilling, eating a snack. Or, how loved you are to be saved through sacrifice from Jesus Christ himself! Come On Jesus! We are all God’s children and Jesus is our brother, our savior, and our Lord. We are loved because he first loved us.
I say this because on Christmas our brother celebrated another birthday. He is the true reason for the season and deserves to be celebrated. As I scrolled down my Facebook timeline on Christmas day, aside from the outrageous “Happy Birthday Jesus” memes people posted, I saw a post that read:
My heart was broken at how serious this person was and my initial reaction was to unfollow them. However, me un-following them wouldn’t change a thing. They are entitled to their own opinion just like I was entitled to my belief in Jesus Christ. So instead of un-following them or blocking the page completely, I began to pray.
Lord,
I pray that they are loved like you love me. Please have mercy on them like you do for me and please forgive them for their sins. I pray that they come to know you personally and that they are changed by your love and grace.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
You see at one point in my life, I questioned if Jesus was real too. To be honest, it was hard to believe in someone you couldn’t see and even though I did have questions and doubt, I didn’t want to look stupid by asking someone if he’s real. It wasn’t until my stepmom explained to me that it’s okay to ask questions. If you don’t you’ll never know the answer. So, if you have questions about the Lord, ask someone. Be careful who you ask though because the enemy does come in many disguises. 1 John 4:1-3 tells you how to discern those who you can ask.
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
Start off talking to someone you trust and from there seek the truth and ask the Lord. Every answer to every question you have about Jesus is found in the Bible, the Word of God. Find a translation you can understand and seek more information.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:7)
Know that God loves you and he wants a relationship with you.
God is love.
God is Life.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. All who live in love live in God and God lives in them. (1 john 4:16)
So to answer the question:
IS JESUS REAL?
Yes.
How do I know?
Because the answer is found in 1 John 5: 6-12.
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
