The Christ-centered Relationship!

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Rev. George R. Dillahunty
685 Grant Avenue
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452-3047

February 28, 2010

Text: John 14:6 (King James Version)

"Jesus saith unto him, ’I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.’"

Topic: The Christ-centered Relationship!

In our Holy Scripture text, for today, Jesus, the Christ, was talking to His Disciple/Apostle Thomas - "Doubting Thomas" - and us! The late great Anglican clergyman, scholar, author, and speaker, Rev. William Henry Griffith Thomas (1861 - 1924), once said, "[Faith] affects the whole of man’s [or, woman’s] nature. It commences with the conviction of the mind based on adequate evidence."

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Timothy 2:9 (KJV), tells his young preacher, Timothy, and us: "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." This passage of Holy Scripture is not gender specific; but, includes both men and women! Jesus, the Christ, is everyone’s Mediator between Almighty God and them - His mediation effort is all-inclusive - and, if we are saved, no one is left out!

Mediators often play an important role in helping to resolve disputes! When emotions flare - insight is lost - communication stops - and, stubborness sets in! In such circumstances, an arbitrator can often bring a renewed perspective and a plan for resolution!

The ultimate mediator is Jesus, the Christ! Nowhere is a personal "go-between" more needed than in resolving the conflict and estrangement between mankind - both male and female - and, Almighty God! Our personal sin has dug out a chasm so deep and wide, that is it impossible for any of us to "cross over" to Almighty God on our own! Without a Mediator, we can never overcome the alienation of affection and the disruption of communication that has come between Almighty God and us!

Human parents - for the most part - watch over their children - their sons and their daughters! They watch over their children when they become hopelessly entangled with the law! As much as the parent would love to wrap his or her arms around that child and bring the child home - the parent cannot - the law has to be satisfied - justice must be carried out - a debt to society must be paid - and, a law must be enforced!

So it is with life! We are created in the image of Almighty God - and, as such, He can be compared - in some ways - to a human parent! Because of the sin of our ancestral parents - Adam and Eve - we have all sinned and come short of the glory of Almighty God! We are all in need of a Savior - of a Mediator - between Almighty God and us! It was just for such a need as this that Jesus, the Christ - Almighty God Incarnate - Emmanuel ("God With Us") - came to mediate peace between Almighty God the Father and us!

Words cannot adequately express or do justice to the importance of the mediating role of Jesus, the Christ! It is why He came - it is why He died - it is why He was resurrected - it is the "real" meaning of Easter! Without His intervention on our behalf, we could never resolve our differences with Almighty God - without the urging of His "Loving Spirit" - the Holy Spirit - we would never want to resolve them - we would be hopelessly lost in sin!

Jesus, the Christ, deserves our unending gratitude - our unwavering appreciation - our everlasting admiration - and, our eternal affection! When he ... next page »