Unstoppable

There are a lot of reasons why I believe the bible is really true. One particular reason, though, is on my mind this morning. The whole notion of Christianity is pretty crazy, right? God comes down as a man and lives, preaches, dies, and then rises from the grave and says that we should follow after him. Hmmm. . . It isn't a particularly logical faith, is it? But despite the illogical nature of Christianity's main claim there is another word that describes this faith as well: unstoppable.

There are followers of Jesus on every continent all over the world. In some places that fact alone is still a reasonable cause for persecution and death. In countries where Christianity is against the law, the church seems to be growing all the faster. Millions of people meet together each week in underground churches to silently worship the Savior that died to redeem them. Just last night some of my girls and I were singing in my basement. . . Oh, it makes me so sad to think that there are young people out there who can't sing out loud to Jesus.

Gamaliel, a Pharisee during the time after Jesus' death and resurrection, had interesting words to share at a hearing condemning the apostles for preaching about Jesus.

Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God. Acts 5:38-39

Interesting that a man who did not believe in Jesus would so accurately explain the nature of the situation, isn't it? And does it strike you as amazing that those words were written almost 2,000 years ago? Christianity has not yet failed. It has grown, and multiplied, and miraculously moved through out this world.

People are dying for Jesus just as readily as the apostles did in the beginning. I am so encouraged and inspired when I think about the faith of the millions who have gone before me, and I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the church of Jesus will continue to grow and enlarge until the day He comes back to take us home.

I will leave you with another quote taken from my bible study in Mark. We are nearing the end of the book, and Barabbas has just been released and Jesus sentenced to death. It is unjust and unreal to think of a radical murderer being released, and Jesus, a preacher man making crazy claims, dying in his place. . . but then again, nothing about God's work in Christ is logical, is it?

Barabas was a guy burning the system down, he is killing people. . . But if you let Barabbas go, you can always stop him. The most Barabbas will do is go out, round up another bunch of guerrillas and start another riot. You can always stop him by bringing out the national guard and putting down his riot. Find out where he is keeping his ammunition. Raid his apartment without a search warrant and shoot him while he is still asleep. You can stop Barrabas.

But how do you stop Jesus? They nailed him to a cross. . . Then they buried him, rolled a stone over his grave, wiped their hands and said, "There is one radical who will never disturb us again. . . " Three days later Jesus Christ pulled off one of the greatest political coups of all time: He got up out of the grave. .. the leader of a new creation - who has overthrown the existing order and established a new order that is not built on man." (Tom Skinner, "The U.S. Racial Crisis and World Evangelism" in Christ the Liberator, p. 208)

Jesus is unstoppable. People may reject him as God and refuse him as Savior, but that does not change the reality of who He is and what He came to do. There are millions whose lives testify to these truths. Oh, how deeply I long for my life to be one of them!!