Heed Jesus' Message and Transform this Evil World
Published in
The Universe
(January 19, 2003)
IT is a society where evil masquerades as good and the truth is distorted and presented as lies. We need to return to our faith in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who brought a message that transformed the lives of millions.
It was and is a revolutionary message. It turned the pious hypocrites inside out. It undermined the principles on which political power was built. It told the forgotten that they were remembered and the downtrodden that they would walk with God. Those rejected are welcomed, those despised are praised, the abused are treasured and the wounded healed.
What is so enduring about Jesus of Nazareth and so challenging to each one of us is a living reality. According to Jesus, we find the meaning to our lives by losing ourselves in serving others, being with them in their suffering and need, by taking up their just cause and being with them as He was and seeking no reward. By denying ourselves the pleasures of this world and rejecting the trappings of wealth in favour of simplicity, we discover a greater power and spiritual wealth a world of happiness.
We can have that inner peace of mind and heart that is never found amid the profits and prospects of stocks and shares or the mindless pursuit of pleasure and privilege. His message turned the world inside out and transforms each of us who open ourselves to His word.
Too easily our lives can drift away down an avenue of world ambition and material pursuits. And all the while we delude ourselves that we are righteous, pure of mind, noble and honourable. Jesus sees our inner heart and calls us to repent to undo the harm and pain that we have brought to others and ourselves.
He offers forgiveness and understanding when we are depressed and viciousness, he offers friendship and peace of mind, where there was nothing but a dark loneliness and unhealed anger. When our hearts are filled with the self-pity, he can lift us up with compassion and common sense.
Never had any human being come into the world with such respect and compassion for the poor and the oppressed. No one else had such simple but powerful wisdom that cofounded the learned and the mighty. None have inspired so man with so much love or empowered so many to pursue justice and peace with such fervour and commitment.
Jesus ignited a revolution of the spirit that moves through the world like he did, combating evil, freeing the enslaved, opposing injustice, building peace, touching the untouchable, loving the unlovable and healing the sick. His followers seek no personal reward, ask no special favours. They want to serve others like he did and change the world.
