PROJECT WHAT YOU PERCEIVE

-part 3-

By Zecharias E. Castro

When the Christian era began 2/3 of the Christians were slaves. And the other 1/3 were men who by the standards of the world were “rich” and “free” men who owned lands and possessions. This 1/3 however sold their lands and possessions to embrace the life of being slaves of Jesus Christ.

All the early Christians understood creation is a slave of God. They understood this world only had two kinds of slaves. The slaves of righteousness and the slaves of unrighteousness.

The early Christians understood themselves to be the temple, the house, the vehicle, in short they understood themselves to be the multi-purposed property used and employed by The Word to communicate or portray with nature, the stars and all things made a picture of the Divine Benevolent Father.

It was the Word the early believer’s admired. It was the way Jesus spoke with boldness, certainty and authority which captivated their soul and made them desire and want This Word of God working in them and coming out of them.

The early believers knew Christ had not come to show them a new gimmick or secret of success for procuring for themselves the “riches” of this world. He had come to expose error, to condemn sin, to restore the brokenhearted. To bring the alienated from God back to fellowship with the Father. Christ had come to disrupt the corrupted portrayal of the religion of his time. He was the restorer of the breach. The Carpenter and repairer of the paths to walk on. He pointed to the way and He Himself was the Way.

This boldness of Christ to speak in such a manner as to disregard everyone’s opinion of what should be sacred and holy and dash to the ground the traditions the forefathers, was the one thing that appeal the most to all his followers.

Even the unbelieving soldiers sent to apprehend Him came back empty handed because they were astonished at the boldness by which Christ expressed himself. They said “Never has any man spoken as This One”.

This muscle and strength of confession/expression found in Christ - The Word - inspire the early believers to identity Jesus with Atlas holding the heavens and starry host upon his shoulders.

The early Christians believed in order to become spiritual weight lifters. They loved to show the muscle and strength of their inner man - Jesus - The Word of God. Is the reason for you believing in Christ nowadays to make the word you speak show some muscle and strength?

Which of the icons above is being promoted by the church of The 21^st Century?.