April 10

Talking of Jesus as a young man ......

"Christ was not exclusive, and He had given special offense to the Pharisees by departing in this respect from their rigid rules. He found the domain of religion fenced in by high walls of seclusion, as too sacred a matter for everyday life. These walls ofT partition He overthrew. In His contact with men He did not ask, What is your creed? To what church do you belong? He exercised His helping power in behalf of all who needed help. Instead of secluding Himself in a hermit's cell in order to show His heavenly character, He labored earnestly for humanity. He inculcated the principle that Bible religion does not consist in the mortification of the body. He taught that pure and undefiled religion is not meant only for set times and special occasions. At all times and in all places He manifested a loving interest in men, and shed about Him the light of a cheerful piety. All this was a rebuke to the Pharisees. It showed that religion does not consist in selfishness, and that their morbid devotion to personal interest was far from being true godliness. This had roused their enmity against Jesus, so that they tried to enforce His conformity to their regulations.

     Jesus worked to relieve every case of suffering that He saw. He had little money to give, but He often denied Himself of food in order to relieve those who appeared more needy than He. His brothers felt that His influence went far to counteract theirs. He possessed a tact which none of them had, or desired to have. When they spoke harshly to poor, degraded beings, Jesus sought out these very ones, and spoke to them words of encouragement. To those who were in need He would give a cup of cold water, and would quietly place His own meal in their hands. As He relieved their sufferings, the truths He taught were associated with His acts of mercy, and were thus riveted in the memory."

          Desire of Ages, page 87 from the chapter, 'Days of Conflict'

     We are working through the book at roughly a paragraph at a time. A long paragraph means short comments.

     It is too easy to picture Jesus as a young man with all the seriousness of a young teenager and find Him to be a bit above himself. That would be until you read the following snippet from the paragraph, “At all times and in all places He manifested a loving interest in men, and shed about Him the light of a cheerful piety.”

     The conclusion? You and I would like Jesus and so we would like God as well. Lesson? If we, “At all times and in all places … manifested a loving interest in men, and shed about(us) the light of a cheerful piety,” we would make a wonderful impact on people.

The song for today is by the Hillsong team and was selected by Bryn. Please click on the picture to listen.