How Strange
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to
him,
Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with
suffering.
Like one from whom men hid their faces
he was despised and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2b-3
Does it ever occur to you that there are people who live their lives totally unaware of the saving, protective, merciful presence of Jesus? I don’t mean third world citizens or people who speak in clicks and ticks. I mean flag waving or burning, primary voting or election protesting US citizens. That annoying woman next door or the sweet guy that delivers your mail may very well be living their lives with no recognition of the facts of life. They may get up in the morning and lay back down at night without ever one time thinking about God. I find that very strange. I have known about God my entire life and I have known him, intimately, for 28 years.
The other day I was listening to one of my favorite songs. It is by Aaron Shust and in it he says, “That he should leave his place on high and come for sinful men to die. You count it strange so once did I, before I knew my Savior.” I don’t really know about before I knew my Savior. I know about before I truly believed in him. I know about ignoring the fact of his immense sacrifice but I do not know about not knowing about him at least the simple facts.
Do you know George Bush? I don’t. I have no idea how he speaks to his friends and family. Nor do I have a clue as to what he feels to be his purpose in life. I do know that he exists and that his existence and his position are a great influence on many other people. When I was younger that is how I knew Jesus. I didn’t know his heart but I knew that a lot of other people did.
It makes me wonder what a life with no Jesus, no God, is like. I’m not fond of the image of God that was crafted for me as a child. That God was an unapproachable judge, devoid of mercy. I certainly did not approach Him. Later in life as I began to know people who truly knew God, knew Jesus, knew about the power of the Holy Spirit my perspective changed.
I do not know about “before I knew my Savior” but I do agree that it is very strange to most of us that anyone would give up what Jesus gave up for the likes of us. But then, Jesus is full of strange behavior.
My son Joseph has always loved the song “Jesus Freak” by DC Talk. I remember him walking around singing, “People think I’m strange. Does it make me a stranger that my best friend was born in a manger?” The answer is yes, yes my son, to an unfortunately large portion of the world that makes you very strange. Good news, it makes Him, Jesus, even stranger and it is that strange behavior on which we stake our lives.
There is nothing normal about the way Jesus was born, the way He lived or the way he died. People may think we are strange to believe such things. I find it stranger still that there are people who do not care to know about Jesus and the way He lived. I hope that I might live as a small example of the beautiful strangeness of Jesus.
him,
Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with
suffering.
Like one from whom men hid their faces
he was despised and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2b-3
Does it ever occur to you that there are people who live their lives totally unaware of the saving, protective, merciful presence of Jesus? I don’t mean third world citizens or people who speak in clicks and ticks. I mean flag waving or burning, primary voting or election protesting US citizens. That annoying woman next door or the sweet guy that delivers your mail may very well be living their lives with no recognition of the facts of life. They may get up in the morning and lay back down at night without ever one time thinking about God. I find that very strange. I have known about God my entire life and I have known him, intimately, for 28 years.
The other day I was listening to one of my favorite songs. It is by Aaron Shust and in it he says, “That he should leave his place on high and come for sinful men to die. You count it strange so once did I, before I knew my Savior.” I don’t really know about before I knew my Savior. I know about before I truly believed in him. I know about ignoring the fact of his immense sacrifice but I do not know about not knowing about him at least the simple facts.
Do you know George Bush? I don’t. I have no idea how he speaks to his friends and family. Nor do I have a clue as to what he feels to be his purpose in life. I do know that he exists and that his existence and his position are a great influence on many other people. When I was younger that is how I knew Jesus. I didn’t know his heart but I knew that a lot of other people did.
It makes me wonder what a life with no Jesus, no God, is like. I’m not fond of the image of God that was crafted for me as a child. That God was an unapproachable judge, devoid of mercy. I certainly did not approach Him. Later in life as I began to know people who truly knew God, knew Jesus, knew about the power of the Holy Spirit my perspective changed.
I do not know about “before I knew my Savior” but I do agree that it is very strange to most of us that anyone would give up what Jesus gave up for the likes of us. But then, Jesus is full of strange behavior.
My son Joseph has always loved the song “Jesus Freak” by DC Talk. I remember him walking around singing, “People think I’m strange. Does it make me a stranger that my best friend was born in a manger?” The answer is yes, yes my son, to an unfortunately large portion of the world that makes you very strange. Good news, it makes Him, Jesus, even stranger and it is that strange behavior on which we stake our lives.
There is nothing normal about the way Jesus was born, the way He lived or the way he died. People may think we are strange to believe such things. I find it stranger still that there are people who do not care to know about Jesus and the way He lived. I hope that I might live as a small example of the beautiful strangeness of Jesus.
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