Nearly a decade ago I was speaking at several churches in Ireland. The locals had told me about a beautiful Crucifix of Christ carved out of white stone in the side of a mountain somewhere near Dingle Bay. I was with my family and we made our way up the windy road with the mountain on our right and a straight drop off cliff to our left.
We finally arrived at the Cross, pull off into a little cove in the road, put our car in park and stepped out to enjoy the beautiful sculpture. It was great, but I was far more captivated by the great ocean behind me and the long drop off cliff that fell straight down the crashing waves bellow. I walked over to the guard rail to observe God’s handy work, and as I did I heard the noise of a little lamb. I looked down to notice that a lamb had found its way onto a rock clef some 50 feet bellow me. I have no idea how it got there. Somehow it had climbed the face of that cliff onto a clef just to get to a patch of greener grass.
The lamb because the was in quite a predicament…if it were to take a step in any direction, it would fall to its death.
I drove away and thought about myself, how I am just like that lamb. I know that the lamb wasn’t trying to get to the cross of Christ, but metaphorically think about how many times I just need tot get my soul to Christ to find true freedom and joy, yet I scale the slippery slop of sin trying to find that “patch of greener grass” that I think will bring me more satisfaction.
How foolish am I? Is Christ just someone that I keep in the “nice to have” section of my life so that I can whip him out when I’m in crisis? He should be in the “Need to have” section of my life so that I can live with him and depend upon him in a way that makes him the nucleus of my very existence.
In Mark 8 we read about a time when Jesus was with the disciples and he asked, “Who do people say that I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ. “
We all must answer that question, who is Christ to us? Is he just some liar that claimed to be the messiah – the savior – but never really fulfilled his promise? Or is he just some crazy man, a lunatic that went around performing voodoo type miracles? Or Is He the Lord of our life? it isn’t just what you believe him to be that makes him what he is…
The Bible tells us that he was the “God-Man;” he came as God’s only Son, perfect and sinless, to die on the cross and pay the price for our sins. He was Man in that he was in flesh-and-blood form standing as a representative on our behalf for all man kind. He was the “new Adam” representing that we too could be made new.
So do you believe it? Are you able to bold claim that that Jesus is Christ – Lord of all?
I hope if you don’t know Him, that you won’t live another day without making him the Lord of your life. Please don’t hang on the cliff with your eternity at stake… get to the Cross of Christ.
