“ON NEEDING JESUS”
“No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”
– John 3: 13-17
What does it mean for us to be holy? How is it that any one of us finds ourselves ‘walking into holiness?’ Does Jesus seem to clarify what it means to be holy … experience holiness rather than being ‘holier-than-thou?’… And how do we know it?
This past week my wife and I were driving over to League City to spend some time with our grandsons… and the only way to get there from our house is to take a trip down Broadway St… aka FM 518… the main drag of Pearland that runs down through Friendswood and beyond… One never knows what to expect… and on Thursday this happened… we were heading east and I noticed traffic was slowing down and cars were getting over into the left lane and then I noticed in the distance there was a very large white electric company crane with a man in the bucket way up high on the light post and a huge arrow sign below in the right lane directing all cars to stay left… and I did… following the cars in front of me who did the same. There were at least ten cars behind me following suit… and as we all stopped at the light bumper to bumper I saw a brown pick-up truck coming up FM 518 in the right lane paying no attention to what was going on with the traffic flow… and then when the driver did… she pulled right up next to me and began to inch in where there was no room and tried to cut me off. I didn’t move… I couldn’t. The light was red. We were all waiting. The young woman driving the brown truck looked over her shoulder out the window… and gave me a WTF (where’s the fire?) sign as she raised her hands up shrugging her shoulders and I motioned to her that I saw her pass up a half dozen cars and her place was behind them as no one else had followed her… and with the light still red and nowhere to go… she rolled her window down and just before tearing off into the parking lot of the plaza at that intersection… she looked me square in the eyes and yelled… “YOU NEED JESUS!”
And just for the record… I do need Jesus… but I don’t think I’m the only one… and in fact… I’m still of the belief that the world still does… maybe more than we realize.
To be ‘holy’ is to be set apart. Not up. Apart and to the side of what seems to be normal and culturally acceptable. Jesus followers… Christians… are called to be that.
Not above … but apart… to the side… who don’t always blend in but are most trustworthy when everything goes south… and this I know… it will … life can go south… or upside down… or into a big spin as everything seems out of control and pinned against us… and I suppose that’s how Jesus felt on those last few days of his life… when he had come to the conclusion of his set-apart-ness… fulfilling the ’holiness’ the world was in need of…
And here’s the thing for me… most Christians I know can repeat John 3:16 when asked and we all know the verse by heart when the sign gets lifted for the extra point in any Sunday NFL game… but what I really like is the verse that follows “For God so loved the world…” being … For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him…” God’s ultimate sign and pivotal act to bring redemption… being bought back… and salvation to all of creation… no condemnation… no holier-than-thou… just a pin point on the history of time where God reminds us… “You need Jesus!” Faith matters!
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
