In 1966, John Lennon created a stir by boasting that the The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Many were scandalized by Lennon's arrogance, but could it be that, at that moment in history, they were? The Beatles were in the midst of a ten-year successful streak around the world, something rarely seen.
From a broader perspective, of course, Lennon's fame was short-lived. Only fifty years later, his life and career have been largely relegated to the dustbin of nostalgia and curiosity, reduced to little more than the soundtrack of Nike ads.
Jesus, on the other hand, continues to grow in popularity with each passing year, not to mention the fact that people have been talking about him for two thousand years. The weekly news magazines know that if they put an image of Jesus on their covers at Christmas and Easter they will sell more copies. Film producers know that films about Jesus often have good results at the box office. In fact, the ability of Jesus' name to fill the cash register has led to all kinds of business. Some of my favorites are:
The Diet "What would Jesus eat?" For only $ 14.99 you can discover the secret diet of the Messiah, who had been hidden for a long time. My guess is that he ate the same things that any other Palestinian peasant of the first century: olives, fish, figs, bread and licorice Twizzlers. Sandals with the words "Jesus loves you!" In the plants of feet, so you can leave an inspiring message in the sand. After all, people are always looking for hidden messages in the footsteps of the beach. A line of pet clothes with themes about Jesus, including a dog shirt that says "Jesus ruffs me" and another that proclaims "Jesus fills my dog's bowl". I'm not going to lie, I have no idea what these two mean.
Jesus is even popular among non-Christians. He enjoys great respect from the great men and women of other religions. The fourteenth Dalai Lama - one of the main leaders of Tibetan Buddhism - called Jesus "an enlightened person" and promoted him as a great teacher.
The Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi wrote affectionately about Jesus: "The gentle figure of Christ, so patient, so kind, so loving, so full of forgiveness that he taught his followers not to retaliate when they are abused or beaten, but to put the other cheek; I thought it was a beautiful example of the perfect man. "2 The famous scientist Albert Einstein once told The Saturday Evening Post:" I am a Jew, but I am captivated by the luminous figure of the Nazarene [Jesus] ... no one can read the Gospels without feeling the real presence of Jesus. His personality throbs in every word. No myth is full of so much life. "3 Even the Qur'an refers to Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God.
What should we do with the popularity of Jesus? It is not difficult to understand that being a Christian implies that Jesus likes you, and that someone who does not like Jesus is probably not a Christian. But can we say that having sympathy for Christ is enough to make you a Christian? If the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Muslims and even the atheists can think that Jesus was a great person, then, certainly, we can not say that you are a Christian just because Jesus likes you.
In the stories of the Gospels, again and again Jesus meets people who sympathize with him, who respect him and approve what they perceive as his message. But then Jesus turns around and tells them that they are not his disciples, that something is missing (eg, John 3, Luke 9: 57-62, Luke 18: 18-22).
YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE
You are not a Christian simply because Jesus likes you. Be Christian means to believe in him. That is, you must have faith in him. It's important that you see this, so I do not want to accept only because I say so. Consider what the Bible He says. Here you have only four of the many passages where teaches the need for faith:
"Because God so loved the world, that he has given his Son unigénito, so that everyone who believes in him, do not miss, but have eternal life. Because God did not send his Son to the world to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved by him. The one that in him he believes, he is not condemned; but he who does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God ... He who believes in the Son has eternal life "(John 3: 16-18, 36).
"Then they told him: What should we do to put into practice the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them: This is the work of God, may you believe in the one he has sent "(John 6: 28-29).
"But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, witnessed by the law and by the prophets; the justice of God for means of faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe in him. Why there is no difference, because all have sinned, and are destitute of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God placed as propitiation through faith in his blood, to manifest his justice, because of having overlooked, in his patience, the past sins "(Romans 3: 21-25).
"But without faith it is impossible to please God; because it is necessary that he who approaches God believes that he is, and that he is a rewarder of the who seek him "(Heb.11: 6). In these passages it is quite clear that faith is essential to be a true Christian. Jesus says that eternal life comes by means of believing. Paul says that the benefits of Christ's death come by faith. And the author of Hebrews says that we please God by faith.
Faith separates the true children of God from those who truly respect Jesus. You are not a Christian if you do not have faith in the Son of God. If you have that faith, you are a Christian. These Statements require further clarification, of course, but they give you the general guidelines of what the Bible teaches.
