Oh that I were only able to start off the school year telling the students about one of the biggest failures of all times.
-Single parent home
-Father turned His back on him (Matthew 27:46)
-Closest family members did not support him (John 7:5)
-Best friends deserted him away (Matthew 56:26)
-Kind of ugly (Isaiah 53:2)
-Mocked and laughed at (Luke 22:63)
-Homeless (Matthew 8:20)
According to the world's standards (then and today), Jesus was a failure. No material wealth. Hangers-on only for what he could do for them. Best friends abandon him. Even his own Father turned His back on him at his greatest hour of need. What a loser! Quite the contrary.
No other person who ever walked the earth has had more of a lasting effect on humanity than Jesus. More books have been written, more songs composed, more poems penned about Jesus then any other man, woman, or child who ever lived. Countless organizations organized, foundations founded, and groups grouped based on His teachings.
What a lesson for kids. Obstacles can be overcome. Challenges conquered. Problems solved. Jesus life was about resolution, perseverance, grit. He knew who he was, why he was here, and what he wanted to accomplish. He had goals/aspirations and lived his life with singular devotion to these goals. Sure there are other historical figures that can highlight some of these traits, but not with the success as Jesus Christ. Martin Luther King, Jr, Gandhi, Harriett Tubman, while noteworthy in their own right, all pale in comparison to the example set by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What takes place around a person does not have to define who that person is. Will we be defined by our circumstances or by our faith in Jesus Christ?
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? Mark 8:36,37
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