The Trouble With Jesus

About 12 years ago I read a book by Joseph Stowell titled, 'The Trouble with Jesus'. I was very keen to discover what exactly is the trouble with Jesus and after reading the book I was very disturbed by what I discovered. According to Stowell Jesus was no longer welcomed in America after the 9-11 attack. In the effort to encourage both diversity and unity, a message featuring absolutes such as "no one comes to the Father but through me" was seen as problematic. Of course, it is absolutely difficult to include the One who has claimed to be the only way to God when a diversity of paths to God is being celebrated.

Religion has caused so many problems in the world and some honest people have tried to solve the problems in different ways. One of the popular approaches to dealing with this problem is the campaign for tolerance. Generally speaking, tolerance is the capacity of respecting and recognizing the beliefs or practices of others who differ from our own. Based on this definition, tolerance is good and should be practiced by all but Christians should be very careful of the tactics of the Devil. We should not make the mistake of watering down the core of the Christian message in the name of tolerance. Tolerance should never become conformity or compromise.

The core message of the Kingdom is that Jesus is the only way to the father and it is only by believing in Him that salvation can be found. This is not an easy message to accept as there are so many religions that claim to be a path to God. As a Christian, you can be disturbed by the fate of so many 'good' religious people you know that worship 'God' in some other way. But such concerns should lead you to evangelism and heartfelt intercession for souls and not conformity. The bible says, 'And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.' Acts 4:12.

The disciples faced the trouble with Jesus in Acts chapter 5. They were persecuted as a result of their position about Jesus and were told 'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name' (Acts 5:28). But. 'Peter and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than human beings!'' (Acts 5:29)

As we wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must determine to obey God rather than man. We must be ready to choose Christ above popular culture, popular beliefs, and human philosophy. You can tolerate other people's religion but you should never accept the wrong way as being right. Such tolerance should rather motivate us to pray for others rather than jeopardize their chance of salvation. Gospel may not be politically correct but we must not choose political correctness above Christ.

Learn to share Jesus with others. Learn to declare boldly and in love that He is the only way.