Cut Right to It

     As the ancient story goes:  One day a simple farmer, Gordius, and his wife road an ox cart into the town of Phrygia.  Little did he know that it had been prophesied by an oracle that the next man to enter the city in an ox cart would be King of Phrygia.  He was crowned King.  As an offering for his good fortune Gordius offered his ox cart to the gods tying it to a pillar with a highly intricate knot.  From that grew another prophecy, that whoever would undo the Gordian Knot would be the ruler of all of Asia.  In the year 333 B.C. Alexander the Great came to the kingdom of Phrygia, having heard of the prophecy and on a quest to conquer the world, Alexander went to examine the famous knot.  After looking at the knot for a short period, Alexander removed his sword and cut cleanly through the knot.

     Today most people believe that salvation has become so complicated that no one can truly untangle the knot that has been formed.  People seek comfort, salvation and reconciliation to God through a multiplicity of roads.  It may be in ancient times that all roads lead to Rome, but according to scripture not all roads lead to God.  During the ministry of Christ there was much confusion about Christ himself.  Jesus asked his apostle in Matt. 16:13, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” In verse 14 They said, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” In his teachings Christ cuts through the knot of confusion and says clearly who he is and where salvation lies.  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).  Here Jesus makes four very restrictive statements: 1. He is the way.  There are not multiple paths open to men there is but one. 2. He is the truth.  For years men have been told that there is no such thing as absolute truth, yet Christ says that he is the truth.  3. He is life. Those that are seeking peace in this world, peace of mind, or a fulfilling life, it can only be found in Christ Jesus. 4. No man can come to the Father but through Jesus Christ.  Christ was not very politically correct, he did not say find your path, do what you feel is right in your heart, or seek God on your own terms. He clearly stated that the only path to the Father must go through him.  In an age of live and let live, you do your thing and I’ll do mine and let’s not be judgmental the scriptures are clear. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:10 – 12). 
     Recently I heard a man asked if he was offended by the name, Jesus.  He responded, “Why would I be offended he was just a Jewish carpenter”. To see Christ as nothing more than a Jewish carpenter is to be entangled in the knot of religious confusion that has been constructed by the world.  Peter cut cleanly through the confusion when he answered Christ’s question with this statement.  Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). Christ said of himself, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (John 6:51).  Just a carpenter?  Just a wise teacher?  Just a prophet?  No he is much more, he is the savior of the world.

Your Legacy

     I must admit that I am somewhat of a bibliophile. Don’t worry it is neither fatal nor contagious.  It just means that I love books.  There is just something about holding a book, that may be several hundred years old and reading it knowing that you are entertaining the thoughts and ideas of someone that has been long gone from this earth.  To hold the scriptures in your hands and know the will and nature of God is another level altogether (blog for a future time).  Some of the books in my library that I cherish most are books that once belonged to my grandfather or books that my father has passed on to me.  All of us have something, not necessarily a book, that has been passed on to us from a family member or friend that has left this life behind.  We remember fondly those that are gone when we hold these mementoes.  When the time comes there will be things that we leave behind to those that we love and cherish.  If we would admit it we all have a desire to be remembered.  Over the years men have tried to do this through various avenues.  Some have erected great monuments others have written great literature or painted great works of art.  Most of us will never fall into one of these categories.  So what can I leave behind that will be remembered?  The greatest gift that we can leave to those in the generations to follow cannot be held in the hand or bequeathed to an individual in our will. 

     There are two men in the scriptures whose lives are in stark contrast to one another.  After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam divides the kingdom because of his indifference to the burdens of the people and poor advice he receives from his peers (1Kings 12).  Rehoboam remains king over part of the kingdom and Jeroboam becomes king over the other part.  For fear that the people would eventually return to Rehoboam one of the first official acts that Jeroboam does as king is to set up two golden calves and presents them to the people as,  “behold thy gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (1Kings 12:28).  This was a legacy of sin that Jeroboam would pass to all the generation that would come after him.  This legacy would be such bitterness to God that he would give them up.  And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin (1Kings 14:16).  Then we have David, though he was not a perfect man, he did live in such a way that he is referred to as a man after God’s own heart (1Sam.13:13-14, Acts 13:22).  David leaves a legacy of obedience to God.  And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel (1Kings 9:4-5).  Often Israel would have been destroyed if it had not been for the righteousness of David.  Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem (1Kings 15:4).

     There are many things we could leave as an inheritance to those that follow after us but there is not a more powerful legacy that we can leave than our example.  Good or bad it will have consequences that you cannot imagine.  With all that Leonardo da Vinci achieved in his life he wrote in one of his final note books, “I have wasted my hours.”  Will you have wasted your hours here and leave an example that will be a detriment to others or will you live in such a way that other will be able to partake in the protection, blessings, and joys that are only found in being a child of God?