A Question Deserving an Answer

Follow this intriguing story and the question is posed.

The artist, Alexander Sternburg, who lived in Dusseldorf in Prussia, was commissioned to paint the crucifixion. He knew the story of the crucifixion by heart, but did not believe in Christ. One day he was walking in the forest near his city when he met a gypsy girl making straw baskets. She was lovely. He enlisted her to be a model for another painting he was doing of a dancing girl. She was enlisted to come three times a week. As she posed, her searching eyes found the painting of the crucifixion. “Who is that?” she asked. Sternburg: “The Christ.” “What is being done to Him?” Sternburg, “They are crucifying Him.” “Who are those people with angry faces?” Sternburg, “Now look here! I cannot talk. You have nothing to do but stand as I tell you.” Days later she asked, “Why did they crucify Him? Was he bad, very bad?” Sternburg, “Listen, and I will tell you once and for all. Then no more questions.” He told her the story of the cross. It moved her to tears.

Finally, her last day came. She stood motionless, but emotionally, before the painting and said to Sternburg, “You must love Him very much when He has done all that for you?” “All that for you,” rang through his mind for days. He knew he did not love Christ. Sometime later he was saved. Out of gratitude he sought to express his love through finishing the painting of the crucifixion. It was soon hung in the great museum in Dusseldorf. Underneath the inscription: “All this I did for thee; What hast thou done for Me?”

One day Sternburg visited the gallery and saw a lovely girl standing before the painting weeping. It was Pepita. They greeted and she said, “O Master! If he had but loved me so!” The new Sternburg told her of Christ’s love for her. In near unbelief and with deep gratitude she accepted Christ as Savior.

Some years later the painting was visited by the wealthy young nobleman, Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf. This young aristocrat was trained for a diplomatic career in the Court of Dresden. On a trip to Paris he stopped in Dusseldorf to rest his horses. While there he visited the art gallery. He noted the painting of Sternburg and was struck by it. He stood paused to read the inscription: “All this I did for thee; What has thou done for me?” His eyes met those of the thorn-crowned Christ. He could find no answer to that question that satisfied his mind. Hours passed, the light faded; time came for the gallery to close. It was night when he left the gallery, but a new day had dawned in his experience. From that day all that he had was placed at the cross of Christ – his wealth, fame, heart and life. He declared, “I have but one passion. It is Jesus, Jesus only.” He became a major figure in 18th Century Protestantism.

Now, consider the question as posed for you by Jesus: “All this I did for thee; What has thou done for me?”

Mary and Thomas

Does it seem strange that the resurrected Jesus told Mary not to touch Him and a short time later He invited Thomas to touch Him? Through our western eyes it does hint of some sort of prejudice. It isn’t, and when understood in light of circumstances in the time it is logical.

The Jewish High Priest’s duties in the time required ritualistic purity on the Day of Atonement. It was essential for the High Priest to be ceremonially pure for him to enter into the presence of God the Father. When He encountered Mary Jesus, the ultimate high priest, was preparing to minister in the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 9: 11). His caution regarding Mary was to insure He remained undefiled. For any one of several reasons Mary was obviously temporarily ceremonially unclean. Being touched by her at that moment would have defiled Him. It was the custom of the day.

By the time He encountered Thomas He had temporarily ascended to the Father and thus fulfilled the ultimate duties of the High Priest. His heavenly priestly duties would have been completed, making defilement no longer an issue. He was then set aside to fulfill His final roles as prophet and king. Being touched by Thomas at that time would not have been an issue.

Scripture instructs us to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” II Timothy 2: 15. That charge is directed to every Christian. What is shared now is without ego but rather to show the relative degree of study. Every believer should do it to the optimum of their ability. As a result of being called to be a minister I was blessed to have the time and resources to do it. I had 30 sets of commentaries, some with more than 20 volumes. My library had more than 10,000 volumes. I spent more than 20 hours a week on them. If I had not I would have been derelict and failed my God and hence my congregation.

Only recently did I resolve to my satisfaction the relationship of Mary and Thomas touching. The ocean of knowledge is so vast and my intellectual boat is so small there is still a sea for study I will never manage to sail. But I will keep rowing as long as possible.

People with occupations, families, and other responsibilities don’t have the resources or time to devote themselves to such discipline. All have some time and are accountable for showing themselves to God as “a workman rightly dividing the word of God” to the extent they can.

In addition to studying the Word of God, memorize helpful verses. Knowing it in advance of a need enables one to apply it at the time of need. Needing to know it and not knowing it leads to spiritual defeat.

Find a pulpit where it is not only taught, but appropriately applied to life situations. This will aid you in growing in grace and in knowledge. It will enable you to do as biblically instructed to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…” I Peter 3: 15.

What Happens to the Person Who Never Hears the Name of Jesus?

It is God “…who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth” I Timothy 2: 4.

God “…is not willing that any should perish…”  II Peter 3: 9.

Still there remains the question of what happens to the person who never hears the name of Jesus Christ?

First, there is God’s part. God has done His part as shown in the following.

“…one died for all…” II Corinthians 5: 14, 15.

Jesus is said to be one “…who gave Himself for all…” I Timothy 4: 10.

Every person anywhere is included in the expression “God will pour out His spirit on all… Matthew 2: 17.

“If anyone wants to do His will He shall know it” John 7: 17.

It is God “which gives light to every man who comes into the world” John 1:9.

Then there is man’s part.

All of this means that in every person’s life, the Laplander, Ineu, or Hottentot, at some point the Holy Spirit makes them God conscious. That doesn’t mean at that point they are saved, but rather that in response to this they send up spiritual signals they do or they don’t want to know more about Him.

God has obligated Himself to send someone to the person who wants to know more to tell them of Jesus. At that point they either accept Him as savior or deny Him.

After speaking on this subject a native of India, a noted scientist, rushed up to me and said, “For years I sat on the bank of the Ganges River praying that if there really was a God He would send someone to tell me about Him. Then one day an unknown man came and sat down beside me and told me of Jesus. I know what you are saying is true because it happened to me.”

Consider those in spiritual darkness.

It is not the spiritual darkness that causes the heathen-ness,
it is the heathen-ness that causes the darkness.

Every person reading this is God conscious. Unfortunately some likely have been sending up mental spiritual signals indicating they don’t want to know more about Him. May this prompt a change of mind leading to not only knowing about Him, but knowing Him personally as Savior.

The following does not save a person, however it is the logical response. Get involved in a church where you can grow in your faith. Make public your faith and follow Him in baptism as He instructed.

Press On

Not everything can be with it, however, little can be done without it. Persistence that is. Nothing can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Press on.

Exhibit A of the product of persistence is the Republican Vice President candidate James David Vance, J. D. for short.

Vance has held public office for less than two years. Vance served in the Marine Corps in the Iraq War. He graduated from Ohio U and Yale law school. He worked as a lawyer and venture capitalist.

In 2016, his memoir, “Hillbilly, Elegy” became a New York Times best seller and was eventually adapted into a feature film directed by Ron Howard, with Gabriel Basso playing J. D. Vance.

Growing up turbulence was common at home and at school. His grandmother, called Mamaw, was his saving grace. She reared him with tough love and discipline that kept him on the straight and narrow. A “blue dog” Democrat, she owned 19 handguns and nurtured a deep Christian faith in herself and her family. She negotiated with “Meals on Wheels” staffers for enough food to feed both of them.

Those are but of the many events that could have held him captive to poverty, lethargy, and a poor work ethic. These negatives did not lead him into cultural and economic bondage. They were compensated for by his persistence, his drive to press on.

A code of ethics can be designed by the following text, all of which are in a Modern English version. Don’t let your mind stumble over these ageless gems.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous…” (Psalm 1: 1, 2).

Meditate on this explanation of why God created you… think about it.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2: 10).

J.D. Vance is a classic example of what can be done if you only press on.

On No Longer Being a Human Being

Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox was known as an avowed racist. When I spoke at his funeral I said he was not a human being – – – he was a human becoming. By this I meant it was not that at a point in his life he reached a state of arrested growth beyond which he did not change. He grew beyond it and became a new man with new ideals and aspirations. In that sense he became a human becoming, a new man. He included in his administration more blacks than any governor before him.

Are you a human becoming, developing in your faith and Christian life, or have you reached a point of arrested spiritual development? Many people did so long ago and became spiritually stagnant.

Believers are under the mandate to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… Amen” (II Peter 3:18).

Two distinct areas are noted, which are grace and knowledge.

You can’t grow grace, but you can grow in grace. God’s grace is boundless. It can’t be increased, but in the sphere of grace you can grow. It is not the grace that grows, it is the believer who lives in grace that must grow. How? Knowledge is the means of growth. Therefore, it is imperative that the believer study to show self approved in knowledge. It is knowledge of Jesus that is to be gained not minutiae that feeds a sense of curiosity, but does nothing to aid spiritual growth. If a person is intrigued by insignificant Bible issues that should be a separate study. Many Christians are so spiritually lazy they don’t devote themselves to a regimented study of God’s word.

Christian growth is not just garnering information, it is dependent on growing by exercising. It comes by being a doer of the word not a hearer only. It is a human becoming more like the Lord.

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12).

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:13).

Time spent growing in knowledge is essential “…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:9-10).

There it is again the necessity of increasing in knowledge.

Ephesians 4:22-24 gives guidelines as to how to grow spiritually, “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Resolve today to grow as a human becoming.