Is Christ Irrelevant?

            A common thread that is woven through the fabric of the human condition is self-interest.  Powerful men do not seek after power for the sake of power itself.  Wealthy women do not pursue riches for the sake of money.  Their agendas are driven, at a foundational level, by the gratification of self.  The particular means chosen to achieve this end by individuals is merely the window dressing on a much larger picture of the internal drive of every human to achieve happiness, or peace, or security, or whatever it is that gives them the most satisfaction.  In this context, it is perhaps inevitable that, in relation to the Christian faith and its master, Jesus Christ, a question that many people may ask is this.  What is the relevance of Christ – a first century middle eastern Jew – to the problems of today?  More specifically, how can someone who lived two thousand years ago and was of an entirely different culture possibly have anything to offer those who pursue modern agendas?  How can Christ understand or relate to the issues of the 21^st century?

            Many would ask this question from the point of view of their own particular social or economic lenses.  In the world of today, everyone seems to have an agenda.  Whether it is feminism, ethnic minority interests, or social liberation the human race is perpetually dissatisfied with their lot in life.  And so, they come to the table of Christianity asking the age-old question: what’s in it for me and how can Christ fix the aspects of my life that I dislike? 

            That being said, stepping away from the disapproving tone of the previous paragraph, perhaps not everyone asks this type of question from selfish motives such as these.  It must be said that the simple interest in practical application to one’s own situation in life is not inherently wrong.  It is perhaps a fair request to pose to God to ask Him to explain how a relationship with His Son will benefit a person.  I believe the answer is of such a foundational nature that it, once understood and accepted, changes everything and renders all of the above considerations irrelevant.

            We begin first with a brief consideration of God.  The Bible unapologetically presents Him as the omnipotent Creator of the human race.  He chose to mold mankind in His own image, spiritually and emotionally if not physically.  As such, it follows logically that this God would perfectly understand the race of living images of Himself that He made.  As a painter is intimately familiar with every brush stroke on the canvas or a software engineer is aware of the hidden loopholes and idiosyncrasies of his code base, so God possesses a microscopic level of insight into the human condition.  In other words, a concern does not exist that God does not have full and complete knowledge and comprehension about.

            Factor into the above consideration the biblical truth that Jesus of Nazareth, the aforementioned first century middle-eastern Jew, was and is God incarnate.  He is literally God clothed in human flesh.  Therefore, what God knows Jesus knows.  His understanding is not bound by the epoch of history He lived on this earth in.  In light of that, the hypothetical asker of our thesis question must understand that individual issues and agendas such as ethnicity or gender are not pertinent when considered in relation to Jesus.

            In fact, this is precisely the point.  It was Jesus who shattered all cultural or societal barriers and opened the doorway of salvation wide to any and every human being to step through into His arms.  Prior to His death, burial, and resurrection, ethnicity, if not gender, was exceedingly important when considering relation to God.  The reason was that God had specifically chosen the Jewish race, the descendants of God’s original covenant partner, Abraham, to be the recipients of His love.  In this context, in order for a person to be allowed into relationship with the Lord they had to either be a Jew or voluntarily naturalize into the Jewish society and religion.

            However, when Christ came on the scene in the first decades of the first century He changed all of that.  He revealed the full New Covenant gospel message of redemption.  He inaugurated this new covenant with His blood on a Roman cross.  And salvation was subsequently offered to the Gentile nations of the world.  The only stipulation then and now became the placing of complete faith in and the total surrender of one’s life to, Christ alone.  When this happened, all concerns of everyday human life suddenly faded into insignificance.  It mattered not whether a person was male or female, Jew or Gentile; they all had equal opportunity to come to Christ and thus be reconciled to God. 

This was the titanic point the Apostle Paul was making in Galatians 3:27-29.  He wrote: For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

So then, what does this mean for our original question?  It means that the foundational issue of the human experience is not financial equity, social standing, gender equality, or anything else.  The item of real import is whether a person is reconciled to their Creator through Jesus Christ.  Not that being joined to Christ automatically eliminates all cares and concerns of life.  In fact, often it has exactly the opposite effect.  Having been drawn out of the wicked world we live in; a Christian becomes a bit of a marked man or woman.  Satan, in a furious attempt to destroy the saints, typically redoubles his efforts to attack the faith of a Christian.  And God sovereignly permits this so as to grow the faith of His newly adopted child.

So, cares and concerns do not disappear.  However, they do attain a greater significance because of their eternal impact in conformity to Christ’s character.  Furthermore, what once seemed of paramount importance tends to lose its luster.  Issues of race and gender become secondary to issues of union with Christ.  And, this unity with Him gives a new clarity of perspective on these same social issues.  They can now be viewed with an eternal, historical, biblical understanding that often causes a person to see that their former stance was inherently self-centered and unworthy of the name of Christ.

I recognize that to someone embroiled in the midst of social agenda and reform, this answer to the question may seem like side stepping the issue.  However, such a charge does not change the truth.  Focusing upon surface issues of ethnicity, gender, or social status is a bit like treating the symptoms of a disease rather than treating the disease itself.  The symptoms are important, to be sure, and must be cared for.  But, such treatment is a complete waste of time if the root of the disease is left unchecked.

In the same way, handling the surface problems of one’s lot in life without dealing with the foundational issue of relationship to God, which transcends all human barriers, is a fool’s errand.  What difference does it make if political goals are achieved if subsequently one’s eternal soul is condemned to hell for all eternity?  Besides, if the ultimate target of social reform is satisfaction in life, and if a relationship with Christ brings satisfaction surer and firmer than any human accomplishment, then has not the objective actually been achieved anyhow?

This Christ, this first century middle eastern Jew, offers you a satisfaction both in this life and beyond that cannot be eclipsed or even approached by any earthly experience.  Will you accept Him as your Lord and Savior today and achieve quantitative change in your life unlike anything you have ever experienced before?  Or will you continue to be distracted by the cares of this life, blind to the horrible abyss of an eternity without God that is looming just a few yards away?