God humbled Himself, stepped off His throne, became flesh on Earth, and paid the ultimate price for us. He loves us so much that He came to Earth chasing after us, knowing that we might not even accept Him in our lives. In fact, we continuously reject Him in our lives. Don’t lie; even Peter did it three times after telling Jesus face to face he wouldn’t. God's love for us is why He is a God worthy of service. The God that came chasing after us is a God worthy of worship. This is why I bow down to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A rich ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” While this verse is often used to argue that Jesus is not God, it actually suggests the opposite. The rich ruler addresses Jesus as merely a teacher and does not recognize Him as God. Jesus, perceiving this, asks why the ruler calls Him good, given that only God is truly good. By doing so, Jesus challenges the man to reflect on who Jesus truly is. Jesus is not just a teacher; He is also God. Therefore, He proceeds to answer the ruler's question.
What does faith look like? A centurion came to Jesus asking for his servant to be healed. He asked Jesus only to say the words… only the words. Often, we look for more than His words; we look for something physical. The centurion believed in the power of the words of Christ and needed nothing more. When Jesus heard this, He marveled, turned to His disciples, and said, 'I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel.' (Matthew 8:10) He said this to His disciples… think about that! This is what true faith looks like.
King Solomon had everything, but was still left unfulfilled by the world. He was the wealthiest king of Jerusalem, had 1000 wives, and built an incredible reputation for himself. Whatever it is you might chasing, the outcome is always the same. It will leave you wanting more. True fulfillment comes from serving others.
Even if you don’t believe in God, but still apply His principles from the bible in your life, your quality of life will dramatically increase. This also serves as evidence that our creator knows His creation very well.
Imagine bowing down to your brother. Never happening right? The person you grew up with isn’t God. However, James worshipped Jesus his half brother. How does that happen? James who had front row seats to Jesus’ life witnessed him live out a holy life, a life without any mistakes. Jesus was perfect, He was sinless, but with his resurrection combined we know He is Lord. After His resurrection, James was transformed from a skeptic to a servant of the Lord and died a martyr. James’ conversion is compelling evidence He was both sinless and raised from the dead.
As Christians we can’t beat people over the head with our bibles. It’s our actions and love that brings people to the Lord. We find ourselves in a bubble surrounded by people that think like we do and then we exclude others. We find it comfortable… Speak truth and show love to those when needed and let God do the rest. Sitting with a tax collectors or prostitutes is exactly what we need to do sometimes even if it makes you uncomfortable. Again, invite others to follow God and let Him do the rest.