Evangéliumi Hírnök, 2003 (95. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
2003-04-01 / 4. szám
Page 8. April, 2003 Jesus Christ is Lord! Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:5ff (NIV) The glory of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name. How did he arrive at this victory? He "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, ...he humbled himself and became obedient to death —even death on a cross!” Perhaps it is not by accident that Paul is the one who stresses this fact so strongly. He knew very well —perhaps as well as we know— that greatness and the victory belong to the strongest, the greatest, the overwhelming, the powerful, the forceful and the decisive. You can easily continue with this list since the TV and the papers reinforce these messages with a great variety of words. Paul himself was a successful man; a man of power, strong will, clear vision and leading personality among the pharisees. But after his conversion, and after his study of the life of Jesus, he came to the conclusion that the greatness of Christ is connected to the cross and His suffering. Not only that, Paul was able and ready to make the connection to his own life as he declared: That is why, for Christ ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Cor 12:10) Paul’s victory was a little bit like the victory of our Savior. But he did not stop there. After —or even before he wrote down to us this Hymn about the greatness of Christ, he stated that we —that is the reader— you and I should be acting, thinking like out Master: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus -Paul wrote. Is there any victory for us? Y es, but only if we follow the attitude of our Lord while we execute the mission command. There is no victory in forcing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ on other people. But there is victory if we confess with humility and with an attitude we learn from the Master that Jesus Christ is Lord. And we must do that in every language of the world. And while we are doing that it is better that we exchange our “we can do everything” attitude for an other one: He already did everything for us on the cross. Let us be full of joy that there is a name that is above every name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and that there will be a time when every knee will bow before Him, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. He is the one who said: “I am the First and the Last. I am the living One, I was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever.” (Rev 1:17f) Geza Herjeczki A young girl finds what was missing in her life ‘‘God enters by a private door into every individual. ” —Ralph Waldo Emerson I wasn’t abused as a child; I just felt, well, lonely, neglected and unloved. I don’t think it was my parents’ fault, necessarily; I just wasn’t a happy kid. My family did not attend church. I had never even set foot in one. We weren’t rich, but we had enough money to take a beautiful trip to Florida every Christmas. Of course, my parents loved to tease me about Santa not doing address changes very well. But every year packages marked “From Santa” made their way to our motel room. One morning in Florida I had decided to play in the warm, white sand with my shiny new pail and shovel. My parents weren’t gong to the beach, so I settled for digging in the motel courtyard. I looked at the sandy beach, sparsely covered with tropical weeds. I set out to find the best spot to create my sandy masterpiece. I chose a place way out in the middle, sat down contentedly and began to dig. About four inches under, my shovel clinked on something. I was always dreaming of things like finding lost pirate treasures or being the first one to find an unopened genie bottle. Therefore, it wasn’t a stretch for me to think I had hit the jackpot. However, my little shovel had uncovered a treasure of a much different sort. It was a small silver cross. I turned it over and over in my hands, looking at it as the sun made it glow brightly. Etched on the back of the cross were words I could just barely make out: “Jesus Christ is Lord.” I wasn’t sure what that meant. I never showed anyone the cross, but kept it hidden as one of my prized possessions, only taking it out when no one was around. To me it wasn’t just a cross, it was a sign. During high school, I was a typical teen. I sought out fun and trouble, but rarely got caught for it. My life was gong downhill fast, but I thought it was perfectly under control, except for the emptiness inside that I couldn’t account for. I had lots of over nights with friends. We would laugh, goof off and eventually go to sleep. My sophomore year, though, curiosity began to develop within me. I decided that I wanted to know about God. Although it was something cool kids didn’t tell their friends about, I managed to spend these nights with my friends on Saturdays with the secret intent of going to church with them on Sunday morning. Most of the church services I attended were good, but one was life-changing. As the music began to play and I was consumed, I felt Him. He was the One I had been searching for. He was the One who had been calling me. The pastor called for those who didn’t “know Him” to come forward. I couldn’t have stopped my feet if I had wanted to. He prayed, I prayed, and my life was never again the same. I went home and wept with joy. A seemingly lifelong void was finally filled. For some reason, I am quite sure my search had begun the day I hit metal with my little shovel and found a cross that read, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Now I no longer have to dig to find my treasures. All the treasures I’ll ever need are just a prayer away. Lana L. Comstock, from “Chicken Soup for the Christian Teenage Soul” www. chickensoup. com
