There are many different religions in the world today. Even Christendom has split into so many denominations that it has become difficult and confusing for a person seeking to find God’s true church.
The definition of religion according to the Oxford Dictionary is “belief in a superhuman power that controls the universe.” There are many different religions in the world today. Most, if not all of them, teach their followers very good moral values but often emphasize one aspect as being more important than others. Some are based on myths and fables, while others are grounded in the annals of historical fact. Some believe in a god, while others were created by man in order to elevate himself to the status of deity.
The very existence of these many religions means that the average person often finds himself on a lifelong quest in search of Truth and God. In most cases, it involves ritualistic practices designed to appease an angry, distant God who is aloof and out of touch with reality and the needs of his subjects. The lifelong quest goes on as man searches for the heart of God and seeks to understand Him.
The beauty of the Christian faith is that God is not distant. His hands are not too short, nor His ear deaf to the cries of His people (Is 59:1). As man searches and yearns to understand the heart of God, God seeks to understand man. How does He do this? Well, have you ever heard of the saying: “To understand someone, you must walk a mile in his shoes”? Jesus Christ, the gospel personified, represented God walking a LIFETIME in our shoes, seeking to understand us so that He could redeem us. To be a sympathetic High Priest who intercedes for us, He first had to understand us. Therefore, He took on our human frailties, frustrations, and infirmities and He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:14-15). Jesus showed us that a man can keep the commandments of God when he surrenders to God and receives the transforming Holy Spirit. Through His atoning sacrifice, we have forgiveness of sins and are brought near to the heart of God. The search then ends as we are adopted into the family of God with Christ as our High Priest, elder brother and best friend.
Other religions teach that a man must, through toil and pain, climb up the ladder to enlightenment. Christianity teaches that before man even thought to chase after God, God was already leaving His throne and running to meet him half way (Rom 5:8). Just as a man in quicksand cannot work himself out, but sinks deeper every time he tries, the religions of this world are laying heavier burdens on men every day. We need Jesus Christ. He is Jacob’s ladder- the contact point between Heaven and Earth. He is the one who holds onto the throne of God and reaches out to sinful man, saying: “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest…” In Jesus Christ, man’s chasing after God ends, because God has overtaken him and overwhelmed him with love and His salvation!
