Monday 9 June 2014

JESUS, IN THIS 21ST CENTURY CONTEMPORARY TIMES

The Lord Jesus Christ is without doubt the most important man in human history. My reasons for coming to such a bold conclusion is numerous, for one there is no one who worked as many miracles as Jesus. The subject of miracles have been and will always be fascinating. The sacrifice of Jesus is unparalleled and not human, He is also the only spiritual leader who rose from the dead, knew His position in the after life and offered His followers a hope of what He has prepared for them beyond this world. It is also debatable and I stand to be corrected that there is no spiritual leader whose leadership, inspiration and wisdom has lasted as long as Jesus's has and will last as long.
 Jesus is a very interesting individual and I try to imagine how he would live in these contemporary times, I wonder how he would apply His God inspired wisdom in this information age, how his understanding which baffled the teachers of the law at the age of twelve would play out in the educational sector, and how he would teach about the Kingdom of God in these technological times, which illustrations and terms would He use for His parables in our time?
How will the wisdom of Jesus measure up and His personality and nature of His being shine through in this this modern, competitive, fast paced, business and commerce dispensation?
In Bible times, agriculture was one of the key illustration used to marshal the points of Jesus for the parables of Jesus because it was an agricultural age and dispensation.Our age is a technological and information age, an 'internet' age. How would Jesus use the internet to spread the gospel of the Kingdom? He would most likely use the tools at His disposal to advance the Kingdom of God. He would definitely use microphones to amplify his voice so that as many people as possible can hear Him whenever multitudes gathered to him to hear God's teachings and wisdom from His lips. How will Jesus dress in our times? He was a young man, I can imagine Him in a pair of jeans and ankle boots, I can imagine Him in t-shirts, sandals in summer, shorts when its hot, caps, hats and long sleeved shirts.Would he go for jewelry, perhaps. I can imagine a wedding band on his finger if he chose to get married. What kind of girl will he marry? Definitely a virtuous woman, or a woman or a lady who has been under his watch and His influence for sometime. Jesus was merciful and forgiving, He might marry a lady who doesn't have the most decent past but who is now reformed.
 I don't know if he would necessarily go for designers clothes or labels (He might) but I know He will exercise moderation and decency when it comes to dressing up. I can't imagine Jesus Christ wearing His pair of jeans trousers pulled down just slightly above his bum so that his inner pants can show. I wonder if He would wear perfumes, He probably will but He might be careful which brands He would go for. He will probably support other ministries financially and perhaps by endorsements and He might use their platforms to spread insights on the Kingdom of God as a guest minister in those churches.
If I was a Pastor, I will invite Jesus to my church to preach. That is one man I will gladly share my pulpit with.
 What would he teach if He is on earth today? He will probably be consistent with His message of the Kingdom of God and He would reveal to us the need to repent of our sins and turn from our wicked or wrong ways but I don't and can't see Him being unnecessarily controversial or critical. His ministry would very likely pay taxes as we see Him do, even miraculously in the new testament. What would His voice sound like? I can imagine His voice being very clear and His communication style very easy to understand. I can imagine Him teaching passionately and with authority.What kind of temptation would Jesus face? Every kind of temptation we face today is the kind of temptation He will face because 'he was tempted on all points as we are tempted' He would not be exempted from the temptation of anger, impatience, and fear but we know He would not fall victim to any temptation. He might have to battle with pornography and sexual temptation as every young man do today, after all 'he was tempted in all points as we are tempted' but unlike most young men in today's world He would not fall victim to those sins. As a young man myself, I would want Jesus to be my friend, it would be a privilege to have a friend that wise, that influential and so sacrificial.
Of course, Jesus would regularly make the headline news and will probably be a favourite of soft sell papers, journals, and the dailies.You can imagine Jesus would be popular!
I can imagine the likes of Hello and OK magazines interviewing Him a number of times. Ellen Degeneres might want to interview Him. His impact will be undeniable although He may not always want to be seen. I can imagine a very introverted side of Jesus, a private man who probably treasures His private times and moments, after all He has the characteristics of a lamb, He is the gentle lamb of God. I can also imagine a part of Jesus that is extroverted when it comes to the gospel and preaching, I can imagine Him speaking out when it comes to hypocrites on the pulpit, after all He does have some characteristics of a lion, He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
What kind of music would He listen to? Will Jays Z, John Legend, R. Kelly,or Michael Jackson's kind of music appeal to Him, I really don't know I know but I do know He would definitely like gospel music, worship music for sure. I can imagine Him having CD and DVD collections of hymns and spiritual songs. He might be an Aled Jones fan. Perhaps he might like animation, cartoons and comic books. He might appreciate the creativity that has gone into such and the extent of  human talent and potential.
I can imagine channels like ITV and the BBC interviewing Him and asking loads of questions, I can imagine Him on talk shows and late night shows. I visualize him going Oprah Winfrey's talk show and Oprah being baffled by His wisdom.
He might look into publishing a book or books. Books that become best sellers in the country where they are published.
I wonder what career path Jesus would follow if He was on earth in our generation. I can't imagine Jesus being a lawyer, though I can imagine many intelligent lawyers trying to debate Him. I can imagine Jesus taking to a vocation or profession that involves direct contact with people, I can visualize Him taking to the medical profession where He would have time and access to healing people and caring for them. Jesus would probably be anything from a support worker, a carer, a medical doctor or a nurse. He could also be a teacher so as to impact on the leaders of tomorrow and impart godly wisdom to young children in either secondary schools or primary schools. I can also 'see' Jesus working as a staff in a nursery where He can carry babies, heal them, show affection to them and be a blessing to the parents and guardians of the children. He would probably be a nurse over being the doctor of a hospital simply because he would be more directly involved with patients than doctors are. Irrespective of whatever vocation or career path Jesus chooses, that would be secondary to His primary assignment of saving souls and preaching about the Kingdom.
I can imagine Jesus in our time being a very well informed young man who can persuade and debate on about any issue of life, what a pleasant person He will be to talk to. Because of His knowledge of agriculture who knows if he would want to be a farmer? I doubt it. But it's easy to assume He would go round visiting farmers and being a blessing to them and probably blessing their land and farm crops.
What hobbies would Jesus have in today's 21st century modern age? He would definitely like fishing as a relaxation sport or hobby, I can imagine a JESUS who wold join a fishing club where HE goes fishing with friends and has some of the most miraculous catch of fish either in size or quantity. I see Him using such sessions to teach and lecture about the Kingdom.
He will very likely have a good appetite! He will like all sorts of nice food and probably drink non alcoholic wine, He will very likely be adventurous with food and he will enjoy being invited by partners and friends for lunch or dinner. He will enjoy being visited or visiting others.
How would He transport/move around today? He would probably own a very nice car. Perhaps just one good, nice car, which can be debated that the virgin donkey He rode on into Jerusalem represents. I don't know if Jesus would own an array of cars today, but as a young man He might have a interest in cars. I don't think He will own a fleet of cars. He could ride in taxis, take the train and tube if need be and even walk when He has to. After all walking was the major way He moved around in Bible times.
As a single young man, there will be many ladies who desire to marry Him, especially in the christian circles. Who wouldn't want a competent and miracle working husband? He will very likely have multitudinal followings on twitter that the likes of lady Gaga and Beyonce would envy, and His facebook page will attract many likes. I can imagine Him being a very friendly young man who gets on with children, he would probably serve in the children's church or the children's ministry of a church, he would be a blessings to the children, carrying them and blessing them. I would definitely want Jesus to carry my son and befriend him. Would He carry His Bible about in public? Probably not, because He was the Word in flesh, He was a living, walking, talking Bible. But I don't see Him  being ashamed of the gospel. He'll probably take one with Him when He is going to church on Sunday or have one handed to Him whenever He is in church like we see Him do in the temple according to the Bible.
 As one of the followers of Jesus and a young man myself, understanding how he would live and compose Himself in these times is necessary, not just to me but every one who is a sincere follower of my Lord so that we can do what He would want us to do and live how He will want us to live and conduct ourselves the way He will want us to conduct ourselves.