The irresistible Jesus

I understand why people don’t like religion. You don’t have to look very hard to find someone that has been hurt by religion. Or see some injustice that has been done in the name of religion. So I understand why many people choose to see Easter not as a sacred space, but as a few days off to enjoy with your family.

Yet as we enter the Easter season I find myself yearning for that sacred space. My heart turns towards something bigger than myself. Because while religion is easy to resist, there is something utterly irresistible about Jesus.

If I am uncomfortably honest, I will admit there are times when I am tempted to free myself of the shackles of the Christian tradition. But it is the one whose name I bear who turns me back again: Jesus Christ. I am a Christian because I love that name. 

Those outside my faith tradition might find this strange. What’s so irresistible about Jesus? The answer is found at Easter. If Easter had never happened, Jesus would have simply been the most profound teacher the world ever saw. But Easter changed the axis of humanity. It changed how we can relate to God. It changed the spiritual realm and the earthly realm.

When Jesus was put to death and then resurrected, he showed the world he was God, and that God had become human to draw all humans to himself. Jesus’ death and resurrection was an act of reconciliation between a Father and his children. 

But even from the start, the early Jesus followers battled the forces of religion. Two of the first leaders of the church, Peter and Paul, famously fought over this very issue. Peter was tempted to take up religious regulations, but Paul passionately argued that anything other than Christ is meaningless. ‘We have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law’ (Galatians 2:16).

It seems that in our human nature, we’re always trying to earn acceptance—through being a ‘good person’, a high achiever, or gaining status through wealth, career, family or fame. Jesus breaks through all our strivings. His message is that we are valued just as we are—we are valuable enough to die for. And there is nothing more we can do to earn his love.

Religion is the tendency to add extra burdens to God’s love. But where there is condemnation, Jesus brings acceptance. Where there is turmoil, Jesus brings peace. Where there are rules, Jesus brings freedom. Where there is rejection, Jesus brings acceptance. And total acceptance is irresistible.

If you’ve been hurt by religion, try Jesus instead.  

Oh, put the words in my mouth, God
To tell the world what you’re really like
You’re not some dead God who lives in some building
You’re the father of kindness, the son of forgiveness,
the spirit who helps me
That’s who you are.
—Kevin Prosch

---

by Ingrid Barratt (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 19 March 2016, pp 3.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.