Jesus Christ challenges and ends human religion by offering the promise of heaven.
When Bishop Hurst was in Poona, India, he went out to the great temple of Parvati, and there watched the worshipers. He asked the ancient Brahman priest, who for many years had received the offerings there, "Are there as many people coming here to pray as formerly?"
"No, there are fewer every year." "How long will this worship last?" was the next query. "God knows," he sadly replied. "What will bring it to an end?" "Jesus Christ," the Brahman answered.
Those who promote human religions are indeed afraid of Christ because He puts an end to human religion by introducing the promise of heaven. Could Anyone Fill Jesus' Sandals
Some years ago, a college student took a psychology course in which another student tried to argue that Jesus was not greater than other men. The student stated that he could probably do everything Jesus had done. As a public service to those who have such lofty aspirations, we are publishing a partial list of things which you MUST do if you think that you can do everything that Jesus did.
Feed five thousand unexpected guests, and then have your amount of garbage exceed the amount of food with which you began.
Have a raging storm stilled at your command, and the wind and the waves stop simultaneously.
Become such a threat to a significant portion of the religious establishment that they demand that you be executed. (You must do this by what you say. You are not allowed to use demonstrations, riots, card-burnings, or picket signs, or any form of violence.)
Rise from the dead after you have been executed and pronounced dead.
That is enough of the easy things. Now let's look at some requirements which are more exacting. (By the way, you need not accept the Bible in order to KNOW that Jesus accomplished these things.) By 1900 years after your death (from which you rose), you must have accomplished the following:
Every week, millions of people must gather in thousands of places for the sole purpose of telling about what a good person you were.
Thousands of hospitals and schools must have been built and be operating in your name.
The calendar, used in most of the world, must be dated from the time of your birth.
Men must still consider it worth their time to prove that you were a fake. (If you really were a fake, you would have been forgotten long before now.)
Your life must be considered to be the standard and ultimate goodness for a large portion of the world, and even for those who claim no association with the entity you founded to honor and serve you.
MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU MUST HAVE ACCOMPLISHED ALL THIS IN 3 1/2 YEARS. The Hands of Christ
When our Lord was here on earth, He frequently ministered to man's needs with His hands. He broke the loaves and the fishes to feed a hungry multitude. He made clay and rubbed it on the eyes of a blind man to give him sight. He touched an unclean leper in the act of cleansing him. He said to Thomas, "Behold My hands." One day we, too, shall behold them.
The story is told of a young girl whose mother was very beautiful-all except her hands, which were shriveled and scarred and hideous. Although the child was long reluctant to speak about them, the time came when she asked her mother how her hands became so marred.
The mother told her how their house caught fire when the girl was very little. The mother rushed upstairs to the room where the girl was sleeping in her crib, and with the help of the Lord was able to carry the babe downstairs and outside without being harmed. But in doing so, the mother's hands were terribly burned.
This brought sobs to the child as she said, "O Mother, you know I've always loved you-especially your face, your smile, your eyes. But better than all, now I love your hands."
The One who left heaven's glory and became flesh for us bears in His compassionate hands the scars of His sacrifice on our behalf. His hands will be an eternal reminder of His love. When He Waited the Longest
When Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper on the wall in Milan, Italy convent dining room, the monks began to have many questions about his ability, and his integrity. The picture was merely a copy of the dining area in which it was being painted. The table, the linen, even the dishes used by the monks, were all identical to those in the picture.
Some of the monks thought da Vinci was taking advantage of his contract to paint this picture. They were resentful of his long periods of inactivity, when da Vinci would stand for hours without touching his brush to the wall in front of him.
When they asked da Vinci about this apparent inactivity, he replied, "When I pause the longest, I make my most telling strokes with my brush."
No other event in the life of our Lord has been painted more often, but none can match the one painted by da Vinci nearly 500 years ago.
In like manner, God paused, the world waited, "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son...." (Galatians 4:4).
