Messianic Issues

     In college, I had a love-hate relationship with my professors.  They loved to give hateful tests and I loved to write sarcastic (funny) comments in the margins.

     There was a particular morning in which we were given the professors favorite type of test: the pop-quiz. These are the epitome of low, no-good, downright cruel things that teachers simply love to do and that morning my brain had not woken up with the rest of me. After answering the questions within the allotted time period (circa 4 seconds) I wrote a note at the bottom of the page.  "WWJD? He wouldn't give us pop-quizzes!"

     When I received my quiz back a few short days later, I found a note in the midst of the gallons of red ink that my professor had scribbled furiously on my paper. (We won't discuss the grade).  He had simply replied, "I am not the Messiah!"

     In our quest to be Christ-like, it can be easy to become involved in "saving the world."  Especially for the 'bleeding hearts', such as myself, who just want everyone to be their best and would all too willingly sacrifice our own well-being for the sake of another.

Newsflash: Somebody already sacrificed themselves for everyone; You don't have to.





Josh?  Aren't we supposed to help people?  Shouldn't we do that to the best of our ability?


My dear (imaginary) rhetorical friend, you've missed the point.  It's not that we shouldn't help someone, but we need to understand that there is a point where you stop.  Your job is to show them the way to go, not to carry them down the path.

This concept can be viewed as the old proverb says.  "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he will eat everyday."

It feels like you're helping out when you give away your 'fish', but you have only applied a temporary band-aid, not a permanent fix.  (The greater implications are that you deprive yourself and your family of that fish that they needed.)



Now this thought does not mean scale back on your efforts.  By all means, work hard.  At the end of the day, however, you need to have invested in the future, rather than having reacted to the present.



The purpose of the great commission is to lead others to Christ.

You're not the Messiah.  Lead them to Him.