I have a dear friend, a self-proclaimed atheist, who once posed a rather interesting question. He asked, “How could someone so intelligent buy into ‘the whole Jesus thing’?” I tried to acknowledge the obtuse compliment, but it was impossible to dismiss the attack on my faith. Through the years, I’ve learned that perspective is almost tantamount to knowledge of the gospel when it comes to understanding someone’s willingness, or unwillingness, to accept Christ.
The Obvious Need
My friend’s perspective was built around the assumption that seeking Jesus was for the weak minded: the hopeless desperately seeking hope, those looking for a crutch or an excuse to get through life. While his logic is flawed, it speaks to the obvious need of Christ in the lives of individuals whose problems and ailments are beyond the understanding of man. Whether it was the blind or the paralytic, the demon possessed or the dead, in his three years of ministry, Christ healed many people providing hope to the hopeless (Mark 1:29-45). Those healings testify to the divine power of Christ. But the question still remains: If you find yourself perfectly content with life, why do you need Christ?
An Unrecognized Answer
Walk into any local bookstore and you’ll find an entire section of books dedicated to my friend’s reasoning for why he doesn’t need Christ: self-help. We’re bombarded every day with the notion that life’s problems can be solved with a self-help book or an Internet search. If we don’t find the answers we want from the first book, we move on to the next one. Although they claim to be content, many of my non-Christian friends are constantly searching for ways to make their lives better. You name it, they’re looking for it. Always content, but always searching. What they don’t realize is that they’re looking for Jesus. He’s the unrecognized answer to all their needs, to everything they’re searching for. |L
Deirdre Catlett is the founder of Youth Mission Challenge, a non-profit organization focused on educating and engaging children in the need of mission work around the world. Deirdre lives in Maine with her husband and three children.
