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I have serious doubts that Jesus’ coming has made any difference at all!
Look at the world. It is a complete mess. Are things any better now than before Jesus came? Well, we do have the obvious advances in medical science and technology and transport and communications. Life expectancy is greater but people still die. We can communicate at lightning speed and around the world – even into space – but loneliness is one of our society’s greatest problems. We can communicate online but we cannot communicate face-to-face.
You don’t need me to tell you this. You see it yourself every time you turn on the news. The world is a crazy place of violence, disaster and selfishness. You don’t want me to tell you this. There’s enough bad news without my adding to it. Can we not, on this one day of the year, focus on the positives?
You’re right! Let’s do that. Ummm… The positives…
Of course there are lots of things that are positive. Lots of things are absolutely wonderful. But I am still left with doubts about whether God has kept His promises. Think of some of the ancient promises about Jesus. In Isaiah 9 we read: Light has broken into the darkness and there is huge rejoicing among the people. Why? For to us a child is born. To us a son is given… He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign upholding justice and righteousness forever.
Really? Where is this peace and justice and righteousness? We see the opposite: violence, injustice and wrongdoing. If Jesus is reigning over His Kingdom, He is not doing a very good job of it. Is He?
Or the message of the angels to the shepherds: news of great joy for all people… peace on earth. Really? People are not filled with great joy. Look at the stresses and the sadness. Look at the conditions people live in and the way we treat each other. Has Jesus made any difference?
You could understand people thinking like that, couldn’t you? There seem to be huge promises in the Bible that don’t seem to be realistic.
Has Jesus made a difference? Do those biblical promises mean anything at all? Despite what we see on our devices, the answer is an emphatic yes. For millions and millions of individuals Jesus has made all the difference. Millions of people can tell stories about the peace that they now have and the joy that they now have. For them the angels “good news” isn’t hollow at all. It is full of meaning.
You might have heard of the movie, I, Tonya, that is in theatres at the moment. It tells the story of Tonya Harding, an American figure-skater, who, in conjunction with her ex-husband, conspired to have a skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan, attacked. On January 6 1994, a hit-man, Shane Stant, whacked Kerrigan across the knee with a baton, attempting to break her leg and end her hopes of skating in the Olympics.
That is appalling! Who could have any sympathy for a man who would do such a thing? But, for Shane Stant, Jesus has made the difference. He has said, “"The big thing for me is I became a Christian. It sounds really cliche-ish. But it really changed me. I had an opportunity when I was in prison to sit there and go, 'Man, what kind of person do you want to be? What kind of legacy do you want to leave for your family and your children? What kind of man do you want to be?'" Even wanting to be different, he couldn’t change himself, but Jesus changed him. I’m guessing you won’t see that in the movie.
You probably know the story of the man walking along a beach after a storm when thousands of starfish had been washed up. He came across a little boy throwing some of them back into the sea. The man said, “Sonny, look how many there are. Your little effort is not going to make any difference.”
The boy looked at him and said, “Well, sir, it made a difference for that one.”
Jesus has made a difference for “that one” – for individual people millions of times over.
But Jesus has changed the world as well. An article by John Ortberg, in the Huffington Post, lists six ways Jesus changed the world. The ancient world has little regard for children. They were routinely exposed to the elements to die (especially if they were girls) and were sold into slavery. Jesus’ love for children led to such practices being outlawed, as well as to orphanages and godparents.
Jesus modelled education being available to everybody, not just the elite, as was the practice of the time. That love of education led Christians to establish monasteries and then universities. The great universities like Oxford and Cambridge and Harvard were all established as Christian institutions.
The ancient world could be very brutal. People were killed or discarded virtually on a whim. But Jesus modelled compassion for the poor and the sick. That led to institutions for lepers that later became the first hospitals.
So, children, education, compassion.
Fourthly, humility was not considered a virtue in the ancient world. Virtues included courage and wisdom, but not humility, until Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and talked about servants being first in the Kingdom of God. Historian John Dickson has written, “it is unlikely that any of us would aspire to this virtue were it not for the historical impact of his crucifixion... Our culture remains cruciform long after it stopped being Christian.” In other words, our society remains shaped by the Cross even though we don’t call ourselves Christians.
The ancient world worked on the basis of revenge and of punishing your enemies. Jesus taught something very different: Love your enemies and do good to them. Seek reconciliation. Forgive.
At that time, some people in society were very much second class – maybe not even considered worthy members of the society – slaves (obviously), women, the poor. But Jesus taught that everybody matters. He included women as equals. He reached out to the despised. He healed slaves. In the early church a slave could go to worship and his master would wash his feet, as an act of humble service. Children, education, compassion, humility, forgiveness and valuing all people.
We look around and we might wonder if Jesus has made any difference. He has on every level. But that truth is in tension with the mess that we see as we look at the world.
Can I suggest that where Jesus is welcomed, He makes a massive difference? He truly is good news for all people. He truly is the Prince of Peace. The coming of the Saviour is a message of great joy.
But, where Jesus is not welcomed, then the world more and more resembles the ancient world with its brutality, revenge, selfishness and some people being thrown on the rubbish heap so that others can prosper. When we despair at the state of the world, it should reinforce for us not that Jesus has failed but that a world without Jesus will inevitably fail. A world without Jesus will be little different from the world before Jesus.
On more thing: one day Jesus will return and will establish His Kingdom. Remember that reading from Isaiah? He will reign on David’s throne and over his Kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
God has not yet fulfilled that promise but He will. One day, Jesus will reign. All that is wrong in the world will be purged out and His Kingdom will be perfect. Jesus is making a difference now but one day, He will make all the difference. In the meantime, let’s be sure that we are among those who receive Him and follow Him. Jesus makes a massive difference for those who welcome Him.