I’ve noticed that most people’s thoughts revolve around mundane things—career, success, or family at best. Some harbor ambitions, but more often, their minds are occupied with sex, alcohol, or fleeting entertainment. People tend to wish well for their loved ones and harbor grudges against personal enemies—maybe a troublesome neighbor, a spouse’s lover, or an overbearing boss. A person lives, then dies, and only a few remember them fondly—perhaps their children or grandchildren. Even fewer hold genuine hatred for them after they’re gone.
But Jesus Christ is different. He wasn’t a king or a tycoon. He left behind no written words of His own. Yet, after His death, churches bearing His name sprang up. For the first four centuries, His followers faced relentless persecution, yet they endured. Later, Christ’s church became the state religion of the Byzantine Empire for nearly a millennium. Under His banner, people embarked on all sorts of endeavors: they waged wars, launched Crusades, and undertook the Reconquista. They built hospitals, schools, and monasteries, cared for the poor, and healed the destitute.
Then came the Soviet Union, a superpower that made it a cornerstone of its ideology to prove Jesus Christ never existed. In essence, the USSR declared war on a man who lived 2,000 years ago. Despite orchestrating the most widespread persecution of Christians in history, the Soviet Union lost that war. The USSR is gone, but Christmas and Easter endure. In Russia, the Soviet era is now history, while Jesus Christ remains alive and active. His church outlasted the Soviet regime.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached across the globe. Billions of Christians pray to Him, while others despise Him. For some, the purpose of life is to fight for Jesus Christ. For others, it’s to fight against Him. Either way, Jesus Christ gives meaning to their lives.
Most people lack a grand plan for their lives, and even when they have one, they often fail to see it through. Their aspirations are typically limited to money, power, or sex. Yet, the mere mention of Jesus Christ’s name can shift people’s focus. It stirs something deeper than thoughts of wealth, influence, or pleasure—it sparks love or hatred for Him. Hearing His name, some are inspired to extend kindness not just to their loved ones but to strangers. Others, however, are filled with such intense hatred that they wish harm not only on their personal enemies—their boss, their spouse’s lover—but on millions of Christians they’ve never met, who’ve done them no wrong, simply for professing Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus Christ not only had a plan for His earthly life but executed one that has shaped millennia. How did He do it? How could such an idea even come to be? It’s almost unthinkable, yet it’s undeniably real.
But Jesus Christ is different. He wasn’t a king or a tycoon. He left behind no written words of His own. Yet, after His death, churches bearing His name sprang up. For the first four centuries, His followers faced relentless persecution, yet they endured. Later, Christ’s church became the state religion of the Byzantine Empire for nearly a millennium. Under His banner, people embarked on all sorts of endeavors: they waged wars, launched Crusades, and undertook the Reconquista. They built hospitals, schools, and monasteries, cared for the poor, and healed the destitute.
Then came the Soviet Union, a superpower that made it a cornerstone of its ideology to prove Jesus Christ never existed. In essence, the USSR declared war on a man who lived 2,000 years ago. Despite orchestrating the most widespread persecution of Christians in history, the Soviet Union lost that war. The USSR is gone, but Christmas and Easter endure. In Russia, the Soviet era is now history, while Jesus Christ remains alive and active. His church outlasted the Soviet regime.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached across the globe. Billions of Christians pray to Him, while others despise Him. For some, the purpose of life is to fight for Jesus Christ. For others, it’s to fight against Him. Either way, Jesus Christ gives meaning to their lives.
Most people lack a grand plan for their lives, and even when they have one, they often fail to see it through. Their aspirations are typically limited to money, power, or sex. Yet, the mere mention of Jesus Christ’s name can shift people’s focus. It stirs something deeper than thoughts of wealth, influence, or pleasure—it sparks love or hatred for Him. Hearing His name, some are inspired to extend kindness not just to their loved ones but to strangers. Others, however, are filled with such intense hatred that they wish harm not only on their personal enemies—their boss, their spouse’s lover—but on millions of Christians they’ve never met, who’ve done them no wrong, simply for professing Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus Christ not only had a plan for His earthly life but executed one that has shaped millennia. How did He do it? How could such an idea even come to be? It’s almost unthinkable, yet it’s undeniably real.
