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He is Our Why
The world’s population is around 7.9 billion people. It led me to the question of how many religions are there? The result from my Google search was there's approximately 4,000 registered religions ranging from churches to congregations to faith groups to tribes to cultures to movements etc.
Why? Why so many?
Well, I think in human nature one of the things that we look for is the “why” in this life. Why? We're also seeking a truth. When you think about why, as a child and in raising children they don't come and ask me “how,” “when,” “where,” or “what.” They ask me, “Why dad? Why this? Why?” And I think it's because our nature is to seek the “why” and our nature is also to seek some truth. And when you think about these religions and these movements, one of the ideas is it's a system. There's a system that has been put in place. The system is:
How do I get close to God?
How can I obtain God’s love?
How can I obtain God’s forgiveness?
How can I obtain God’s acceptance?
How do I obtain enlightenment?
Well, the question is: “Why Jesus?” And the reason is because it's different with Jesus. In all the religions there's a different narrative when you look at Jesus. Everything else in life and everything else in these movements says: “What do I need to do to get to God?”
But you know with Jesus it’s what God did to get to you. To get to me.
God became flesh. That's what He did to get to us. Why? It's love. He loved us. He was the perfect sacrifice. He was sinless. And thank goodness His love doesn't demand things of me to earn His love. Just like my children. My love for my children isn't contingent on what they do for me or what they've done for me. I love them unconditionally. And God loves us unconditionally, and that's why He gave us this sacrifice.
And that's why I love this scene in John 13. I try to put myself at the table that night. At the Passover. And John doesn't give us all the details like the other gospels do about the institution of the Lord’s Supper. But we know it's there when we study. That He took the bread, and He gave thanks, and He took the cup, and He gave thanks. And He partook.
I love the verse in John 13 where it says at the end of verse one:
…when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
John 13.1b
To the uttermost, He loved them. And during the supper we know Judas gets up to leave. But then also sometime during that supper, God in the flesh, Jesus, gets up and girds Himself, and takes a towel. Then He goes and washes the feet of each one of the disciples. His whole life was here to serve, and He showed love in every part of His life. His nature is love. And you see from here in John 13 and in the following chapters all the way up to the crucifixion, we see on the cross He calls down to John and says:
“Behold, your mother!”
John 19.27a
Take care of her. Because He loved her. He says, “Father forgive them” (Luke 23.34) because they don't understand what they are doing. And to a man dying next to Him, He shows love once again (Luke 23.39-43).
As we remember Jesus, remember…
He’s our why.
He loves us unconditionally. He loves us absolutely. He loves us completely and without reservation.
