There’s something about being a follower of Jesus that just doesn’t make sense to many people. Maybe you’re one of them. I get it. If I’m looking at it with my simple eyes, it just doesn’t make sense. I mean really. The foundation of the Christian faith is Jesus and his death and resurrection. Think about it for just half a second. Who does that? Who could believe that a man would willingly die that kind of death for people he’d never even met?! It’s craziness! And that says nothing about raising from the dead!?!

But can you give me just a few minutes to look at it a little closer? Can you suspend your disbelief with me for just a few minutes to see it from a different angle and look at a few questions?

Great! You kept reading! That means you are at least open to discussing, arguing or trying to disprove what I believe. Doesn’t matter really, I’m just glad you’re still here!

This week we look at this thing called grace. You see it’s the real sticky part in this whole Jesus thing. The dude named Jesus isn’t the problem because well there’s historical evidence that he was a real guy. It’s not that he really died either because the same evidence that proves he was alive proves he died. The issue is the why! I heard someone once say,

If your why is big enough, anything is possible. Share on X

So what’s the why? Why Jesus? I mean really why would he die? Why would I believe he died? Why would I believe he rose again? These are the questions that drive our faith as Christians.

I have to be honest if you’re looking here for proof that is undeniable and perfectly explainable, you’re not gonna find that here. I can walk you through some of the evidence that Jesus was a real man who really died. But some of this is a matter of faith. Faith is the idea of leaning into something as real when it can’t be seen. Faith in Jesus is leaning into a belief that he died and rose.

Look at it this way, you have faith that your brakes are going to stop your car even though you might not have proof in the moment that non one cut the brake lines or drained your brake fluid. You believe that they’ll stop you based on prior experience. It’s the same with Jesus. Maybe one-day you can’t see him or have a hard time knowing he’s even there. Does your lack of ability to see him mean he’s gone? Not any more than your lack of knowledge of whether someone cut your brakes will prevent you from believing they’re going to stop your car.

So faith, grace and Jesus all need to be put in the same basket. You can’t really have one with out the other. Each one helps us better understand the other. So why Jesus? Well in all honesty, because the things in the Bible that Jesus did are still happening today. The things he promised can be seen day in and day out. And if you think about how other religious traditions talk about our works saving us. This just leaves too much to question. Did I do enough? Am I good enough?

Why Jesus? Because he is willing to love me for who I am. Grace is all about God looking at me and loving me in spite of all my blemishes and failures. So does it make perfect sense? Probably not. But if it made perfect sense to my tiny mind, would I really be believing in something bigger than me? Would I even need faith anymore?