This entry is by guest writer, Debbie Clem. Debbie is a Montessori teacher in North Charleston, SC. She attends Hope Church in Hanahan, where her husband is the pastor.
We all love to read or hear about the lives of celebrities: Hollywood movie stars, musicians, sports stars, and even the British Royals. For most of us, these celebrities live a life vastly different from our own. They live in mansions, drive expensive cars (when they are not being chauffeured in their private limo), fly across the country or continent for dinner, and can pretty much buy anything they want. Many of us buy magazines and tabloids that boast tantalizing headlines about the rich, famous, and infamous. We google information about them and their families. We love to share information about them with others. Most of us don’t know any celebrities personally, and they have never personally done anything for us. Yet, we eagerly seek out and share every tid bit of information about them we can.
Well, how does this headline grab us?
“Jesus Christ gives up power, position, and prestige to willingly die by crucifixion to save mankind from sin."
The Creator of the Universe, the Savior of all mankind, who is all-powerful, lays down His life as a sacrifice for us so that we can enjoy eternal life with God. Why then do we not have a greater desire to learn as much as we can about Him than the celebrities who have no personal connection to us?
Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Jesus knows us intimately—better than any human on Earth—and knew us even before we were born. This supernatural intimacy didn’t cease with that first breath at birth; the Lord loves us for eternity. God is all about relationships and He desires nothing more than to spend time with us, His most precious creation. God loves us so much that He created mankind only after the Earth was made ready for us. James 1:18 says “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth; that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created”.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jesus only wants what’s best for us. He wants nothing more than to bless us. If He knew us before we were conceived then it seems reasonable that we should want to seek a relationship with Him—go to great lengths to learn about Him—to want to be like Him. Still, many of us continue to enjoy the celebrity lifestyle vicariously through tabloids and TV. Why aren’t we spending our time and resources getting to know Him who holds our very lives in the palm of His hand?
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
So with whom does your fascination lie? Will you spend your time, energy, and resources seeking information about someone who neither knows nor cares about you; or will you eagerly seek after the One who knew and loved you before you were born and sacrificed His own life so that you may enjoy life with Him in heaven for eternity?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
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