Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Mystery of Divine Personality

On the way to work today, I was listening to a sermon in which I heard a striking description of Jesus Christ and the great paradoxes He presents:

He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men. Yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming, yet he was so genial and winsome and approachable, that the children loved to play with him and the little ones nestled in his arms. His presence at the innocent gaiety of a village wedding, was like the presence of sunshine. No one was half so kind or compassionate to sinners, yet no one ever spoke such red-hot scorching words about sin.

A bruised reed he would not break. His whole life was love. Yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees, how they were expected to escape the damnation of hell.

He was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions, yet for sheer stark realism, he has all of us self-styled realists soundly beaten. He was the servant of all, washing the disciples' feet, yet masterfully he strode into the temple, and the hucksters and moneychangers fell over one another to get away in their mad rush from the fire they saw blazing in his eyes. He saved others, yet at the last, he himself did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confronts us in the
gospels; the mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.

-James Stewart

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7 comments:

HL7 said...

Ravi Zacharias!

I heard that same excerpt, then purchased the book...Highly recommended.

Nader Alfie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mina said...

Was this James Stewart or Zacharias? And what book?

NaderAlfie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nader Alfie said...

Hi Meeno,

Thanks for reading!

Believe he is talking about the book by Stewart from which the passage came. Zakarias delivered the sermon and is a good writer in his own right. I highly recommend his works.

HL7 said...

Nader is correct. The book by James Stewart is called "The Strong Name".

Fr.James said...

You've been listening to Ravi Zacharias. Good for you.