Jesus, the Conclusion

May 17

Become a man of value more than a man of success. Albert Einstein

Fall Seven times; stand up eight. Japanese Proverb

They are unrelated in background and culture; the latter isn't even attributed to a specific individual, but they have the same mindset. Both Einstein and the unknown Japanese thinker who stated their insights are right. Einstein, whose background was Jewish, reflected the Biblical concept that a person's ultimate worth is not rooted in the perception the world has of him or his success. It is anchored elsewhere. The Japanese proverb addresses the reality that in his endeavor to attain goals that are worthy, a man cannot allow himself to be defeated, no matter how many times he may appear to fail.

So a brilliant Jewish scientist and an unknown Japanese philosopher have arrived at a complimentary conclusion—a man must adhere himself to the truth that he counts to be of esteem-able worth and he must not allow himself to be deterred from attaining it when he seems to fall short of it. No matter what—HE MUST NEVER GIVE UP! If we can appropriate this mindset, we, who call ourselves Christian, will have attained the mind of Christ, as did these.

The reality that people of divergent cultures in different times and different places can arrive at compatible conclusions makes us realize that indeed God speaks to hearts even when those hearts don't know that He is speaking. It makes us aware that He impresses Himself upon believer and unbeliever alike. It makes us aware that even when we are certain that He is not 'there,' indeed He is. It makes us aware that we are not entities unto ourselves who must endeavor to wend our way without map or compass, but we are guided by an unseen, loving hand that would have all mankind to arrive at His truth, I Timothy 2:4. So we plod on toward the goals we know are right.

We continue to strive toward truth and hope and joy and faith and compassion and forgiveness and love—all the things JESUS made us aware are the building blocks of a life that is successfully lived in Him. Though men may not see us as heroes of the faith who are steadfast in our endeavor we must plod on. Though men may count us as fools and as failures, we must be willing to be, "...fools for Christ's sake," I Corinthians 4:10. Though we may seem totally lost and off the mark, we are assured that the “foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men,” I Corinthians 1:25, so we draw nearer to Jesus!

Why? Because we, of all people on earth—more than the Jew who faithfully chronicled His workings among His ancient people and faithfully recorded His deeds among men; more than the pagan philosopher who had an insight into His mind and heart even apart from His Word—have the "mind of Christ," (I Corinthians 2:16). Because we have His Holy Spirit to teach us all things (John 14:26), we can discover the goals He considers worthy of our pursuit and we, though we may fall along the way of our journey toward them, may rise up again confidently!

We may say as did the prophet in Micah 7:8, "Rejoice not over me, O mine enemy, for when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me." Will we always feel like the pursuit of truth is worth the effort? Will we always feel like getting up again when we have fallen? No! But His Word tells us that our feelings are deceptive above all things. His Word tells us that we are to anchor our worth, our goals, out time, our eternity to something other than our own perception of reality—we are to anchor ourselves completely to JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). We are to trust ONLY IN HIM! All else may fail us, but JESUS NEVER FAILS!

So we continue to hold fast to Him and to pursue His truth...until we are able to achieve all He has for us of power to pull down strongholds along our way to victory after victory.