Taking Jesus Seriously

By Mike Glenn

Let's face it. Most of us don't take Jesus seriously. To be sure, we don't totally discount Him, but we always negotiate our obedience. We moderate our commitment. We say to our ourselves, "Surely, Jesus wasn't serious when He said that. He was just being dramatic to make the point."

Turn the other cheek? That's not practical. Your attacker will strike you on that cheek, too.

Leave your mother and father? Well, maybe someday, but not today.

Cut your hand off? Can't we just use hand sanitizer?

That's what makes this Easter season so uncomfortable. After coming to Jerusalem, Jesus' teachings turn dark and heavy. He began talking about being turned over the political leaders. He talked about laying down His life. He was talking about how His death would free us from our sins.

OK, we all know we're sinners, but is sin really all that bad? I know we mess up. I know all of us do things we shouldn't do, but really, is it all that bad? Can't we just say we're sorry?

Does Jesus really have to die for us to live? Is it really that serious?

Yes.

Sin broke the world. Sin broke us.

Not only did sin break us, it broke our relationships with God and with each other. The damage was so complete we had no way of repairing any of it.

God is a Holy God, totally Other. He is so pure any impurity evaporates from His presence the way dross separates from molten silver.

Once we've crossed that line, we can't cross back.

So, Jesus crossed the line for us. He came to us when we couldn't go to Him.

He paid the price we couldn't.

He took us seriously even when we didn't take ourselves seriously.

And that brings us to the challenge of Easter. As we walk this Lenten path, seeing how seriously Jesus takes our lives makes us rethink how seriously we take ourselves. How many times have we nonchalantly said, "It doesn’t matter." Jesus reminds us it does matter. Every moment. Every second. Every thought. Every word. It all matters.

It takes a focused effort to begin to our lives more seriously and when we begin to think about our lives and purpose, we begin to seek Jesus again. He's the only one who knows how to make life matter. As Peter confessed, "Only You, Lord, have the words of life."

Only by focusing on Christ are we able to take our attention away from the sin that tempts us and still seeks to destroy us. We don't overcome temptation by fighting it. We overcome temptation by ignoring it, by no longer desiring it.

Believe it or not, it's in watching Jesus die that we learn to live. It's only when we begin take Jesus seriously that we can take ourselves seriously.

Easter tells us how seriously Jesus takes us. Now, the question we have to answer is how seriously we'll take Jesus.