A Manger, Carpenter's bench, a Crown of Thorns

A manger, carpenter’s bench and a crown of thorns

“They gave him a manger for a cradle, a carpenter's bench for a pulpit, thorns for a crown, and a cross for a throne.  He took them and made them the very glory of his career.”  
                                                                                                              W.E. Orchard
Let’s face it Christians are an odd bunch. We worship a carpenter from Nazareth, a back water town in a back water province of the mighty Roman empire. A man that preached for only three years and died a hideous death on a cross without raising a fist in anger.
This is not what man would consider great. Yet today Jesus Christ is considered by many to be the greatest man that ever lived.
It defies human logic.
General George S. Patton defined greatness this way
"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honour of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."
                                                              Gen. George Patton.
Patton’s definition doesn’t take into account Jesus. He was nothing like Patton described. He was not a great general and his glory is not fleeting.
Earthly glory is indeed fleeting but then Jesus never claimed to be an earthly hero.
Another General who knew what he was talking about was Napoleon he said,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force.
 Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel.  Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
                                                                                               Napoleon Bonaparte.
I do not believe Jesus to be a man. True while he walked this earth he acted as nothing more than a man. Because I believe that in order to be fair with man upon judgement day he had to know what it was to truly be human. Never the less I believe  Jesus was the Son of God, God incarnate.
I believe what the apostle John said,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.... 
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
                                                                                John 1:1-4, 12-14.
For me Jesus was and is the Son of God, God incarnate who came to earth not only to show how far in earthly terms he would go to reconcile man to God, but I believe he came to experience all it was to be a man.
No one can stand before God today and say you do not know what it is to be a man because he does. He walked this earth and truly know what it is to be human.
The question is to you the reader, Do you believe Jesus is who He said he is or not?
To the believer the question is, if you truly believe in him and trust him, do you feel if you are doing enough for him.
Think about it.