A Legacy

A Legacy

"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 
Politicians and others, even terrorist groups want to leave a legacy to the world. Sadly all too many times that legacy is negative. Hitler and his henchmen left a legacy of genocide and destruction in their attempt to build the thousand year Reich. In today’s world the Islamic state are doing the same.
There are of course men and women who have left positive legacies. Churchill who stood up to Hitler. Mother Teresa who cared for the poor. These are legacies that will be remembered in history.
But no legacy is greater than that of Jesus Christ. He literally changed the world. His legacy is eternal.  James Alan Francis in the 1920's wrote of Jesus,
“Nearly two thousand years ago in an obscure village, a child was born of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village where He worked as a carpenter until He was thirty. Then for three years He became an itinerant preacher.
This man never went to college or seminary. He never wrote a book. He never held a public office. He never had a family nor owned a home. He never put His foot inside a big city nor travelled even 200 miles from His birthplace. And though He never did any of the things that usually accompany greatness, throngs of people followed Him. He had no credentials but Himself.
While He was still young, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His followers ran away. He was turned over to His enemies and sentenced to death on a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – the simple coat He had worn. His body was laid in a borrowed grave provided by a compassionate friend.
But three days later this Man arose from the dead – living proof that He was, as He had claimed, the Saviour whom God had sent, the Incarnate Son of God.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today the risen Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure of the human race. On our calendars His birth divides history into two eras. One day of every week is set aside in remembrance of Him. And our two most important holidays celebrate His birth and resurrection. On church steeples around the world, His cross has become the symbol of victory over sin and death.”
                                       Dr James Allan Francis
Think of it Jesus never raised a sword in anger yet today approximately two and a half billion people believe in him.
Napoleon got it right when he said,
“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.”
                                                                                                                       Napoleon 
Force of arms does not change the hearts of men only love can do that.
Jesus said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
              John 3:16,17
The Apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8.
This is the difference between Jesus and the leaders of any movement. Christ died for those He knew were sinners. Not only that He died for the sins of those sinners. He could do this because He was the one and only Son of God.
C. S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” 
                                          C.S. Lewis.
Lewis also points out,
“He (Jesus) died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” 
                                    C.S. Lewis.
This is something no leader of any terrorist group today I’m sure would ever do. Jesus however proved he loved us by dying for us. For each and every man and woman.
Jesus died for you.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
                                                                                                                                            Romans 5:6-8
Please think about it.