Why Choose Jesus?

This past week, I was sitting with a friend of mine. He knows what I do and what I believe in but he, himself, is a little skeptical on the whole idea of God. His question was to me was this: “With all the religions in the world today, why do you choose Christianity? I took that question as, “Why choose Christ?” Honestly, that was a good question and I believe all Christians should ask themselves that from time to time.

Lets take a quick peek at what “religions” there are in the world today.

Why did you choose?

  1- Christianity – 2.4 (bil.)
  2- Islam (fastest growing) – 1.8
  3- Hinduism – 1.2
  4- Buddhism – 0.52
  5- Folk Religion (popular belief in any) – 0.4
10– Judaism – 14.5 (mil.)

Quite a few, don’t you thing. Oh, I would also like to add that in the Jewish faith today there is a large percentage that are acutally Messianic Jews. These are people that still adhere to the Jewish traditions but they do believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.

Comparisons

Hinduism (no one holy book but many sacred texts)

Belief in God: The Christians believe in one God, the maker of the Heavens and the Earth. Hindus believe in many Gods, but primarily focus on Atman, which is basically the “Eternal Self.”

I don’t know about you but, being a pretty simply guy, I think I would rather stick to my “one” God than to try and focus on so many.

Life after Death: The Christian believes in eternity in Heaven or hell depending on your following. The Hindus believe in the constant cycle of life (reincarnation) until enlightenment has been achieved.

Nope, don’t want to come back here. Hopefully, I will have lived my life as God told me to and I’ve secured my spot in Heaven.

Salvation: The Christian achieves salvation through Jesus Christ. Hindus believe reaching enlightenment by the Path of Knowledge, Path of Devotion or The Path of Good Deeds.

Okay, we’re supposed to do the good deeds part but our overall reward comes from the total acceptance of Christ. To us, He is our path.

Goal: The Christian’s goal is to love God, obeying His commands while creating a relationship with Jesus Christ and spreading His word (living His life). Hindus believe in breaking the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation… then you will achieve salvation.

Buddhism (more “oral” teachings)

I won’t repeat the Christians beliefs as I continue…

Belief in God: The idea of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent creator is rejected by Buddhists. The Buddha himself refuted the theistic argument that the universe was created by a self-conscious, personal God.

Life after Death: Rebirth is one of the central beliefs of Buddhism. We are in an endless cycle of birth, death and re-birth, which can only be broken by attaining nirvana. Attaining nirvana is the only way to escape suffering permanently.

Again, the “rebirth” thing is not something I would look forward to. I, personally, want my eternity to be spent with the Loving God.

Salvation: Reaching Enlightenment or Nirvana, following the Noble Eightfold Path.

Goal: To attain enlightenment and be released from the cycle of rebirth and death, thus attaining Nirvana.

Islam – Muslim (the Qur’an)

Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world and share a historical traditional connection, with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the Middle East and consider themselves to be monotheistic.

Monotheistic, basically means the belief in one God. A narrower definition of monotheism is the belief in the existence of only one God that created the world, is omnipotent (unlimited power), omnipresent (everywhere) and omniscient (knowing everything) and intervenes in the world.

Islam refers to us (Christians and Jews) as People of the Book. We are also referred to as Kafirs (infidels) that commit Shirk which is basically stating that we practice polytheism and accept other “Gods” or divinities (The Trinity).

Since Islam seems so similar to Christianity, let’s talk a little more about it…

What You May Not Know

Jesus, Mary, and the angel Gabriel are all prominent characters in the Qur’an (as are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and a bunch of other Bible characters).

Muslims also believe that Jesus (called “Isa” in Arabic) was a prophet of God and was born to a virgin (Mary). They also believe he will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal, or “the false messiah” — also known as the Antichrist.

Mary (called “Maryam” in Arabic) has an entire chapter in the Qur’an named for her — the only chapter in the Qur’an named for a female figure. In fact, Mary is the only woman to be mentioned by name in the entire Qur’an.

Muslims believe that Jesus performed miracles: The Qur’an discusses several of Jesus’s miracles, including giving sight to the blind, healing lepers, raising the dead, and breathing life into clay birds.

Muhammad was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, sent to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

In Death

Obviously, having many “Gods,” we don’t know where any of the Hindu Gods are buried. There is simply no record.

What we know of Buddha is that he dies from an illness, lying on his bed under two trees. The nature of hie illness remains unsettled to this day. His last words were “Let the Dharma and the discipline that I have taught you be your teacher. All individual things pass away. Strive on, untiringly.” Buddha was cremated and his remains were place in Jingchuan County, Pingliang, China.

Muhammad actually died of a high fever. His last known words were “O people, listen to my words, for I do not know if I will meet you again after this year. O people, your blood, your wealth and your honour are sacred to you as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours.” He is buried in The Green Dome, Medina, Saudi Arabia.

We all know Jesus Christ died through persecution, torture and, eventually, crucifixion. His last words were told to us in the Gospel.

Firstly, and true to His Love for us. this great sacrifice for you and me is really the defining point of what drove my “logical” decision to Christ…

Luke 23:34 – “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

He spoke to the criminal beside him who asked for forgiveness on the cross…

Luke 23:43 – “Verily, I say unto you, today, you shall be with me in paradise.”

Wanting to ensure His earthly mother was taken care of…

John 19:26-27 – “Woman, behold thy son. Son, behold they mother.”

And only moments before He died…

John 19:28: “I thirst.”
John 19:30: “It is finished.”
Luke 23:46: “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.”

There is no burial site or tomb for our Lord and Savior as, the Gospel tells us, He arose on the third day!

I don’t know about you but, given all that Jesus did for me, I most certainly will follow in His ways. Who, but a loving and forgiving Almighty God could do such a thing.. would make such a sacrifice?

Again I believe, as should you, all of these things from our Bible. I see the awesome Love of our God. I see and understand the lessons from His Son and choose to be what He would have me be!

But Why Do We Choose?

God is not so “harsh.” We are not taught to ridicule or demean other religions or other men. (Spydr: Luke 6:37 – “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

This is The God; this is The Son; this is the Holy Spirit that I want in my life!

Since I turned my life around, I know these things…

I Am Accepted (Chosen)

As Luke tells us in Acts…

Acts 10:35 – “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”

I do fear my God. Not that He would bring me harm, but that I might live an unrighteous life but, yet I know…

I Am Forgiven

If I confess my sins, admit where I am wrong… John tells us…

1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I Am Not Alone

No matter what I may be going through in life, the Prophet Isiah tells me…

Isaiah 30:21 – “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

I Am Loved

Again, from the Prophet Isaiah, this world cannot shake me…

Isaiah 54:10 – “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Eternal Life

I do not fear death…

John 3:16 – “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.”

In Conclusion

I hope I’ve made sense to some of you. I hope you can see, through the simplicity of what I’ve just outlined, how great our God truly is and why, I myself, have chosen to follow His Son and all of the ways His Son has taught us to live.

He is the Almighty God, creator of the Heavens and the Earth. He has always been and will always be. He Loves us beyond our own reasoning of Love truly means. He sacrificed His one and only son that, whoever so believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life!

I Choose Christ!

Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always be kind… God Bless (Amen)!