i like to read, in fact i love to read. my reading tastes probably border on what most folks would consider “boring”. when i go to a barnes & noble, i head straight for the history or religious sections. i find as much excitement reading a biography on Teddy Roosevelt as others find in reading the latest edition of harry potter. as my friend peter witkowski (seminary student) put it “reading non-fiction is a blast in itself”! I think it is the facts I am drawn to (and the pursuit of truth). i also like to keep up to date with what is happening in the world today. since i turned my tv off over a week ago, this has become more of a challenge though having the web has helped. my favorite news magazine is TIME. I find that though they are biased (most journalists have a bent!) they are biased in both directions- some to the left and some to the right. The latest edition of TIME was their 5th annual “TIME 100” in which inform the public those they have deemed the most influential people in the world over the past year. Their list is broken down into 5 sections:
1. Leaders and Revolutionaries
2. Heroes and Pioneers
3. Scientists and Thinkers
4. Artists and Entertainers
5. Builders and Titans
It is fun for me to read through the brief descriptions that are supposed to capture the essence as to why they are on the list. Among the honorees are the Dalai Lama, Oprah, Andre Agassi, Michael Bloomberg, J. Craig Venter (for a second year in a row no less!), Mehmet Oz, the creator of facebook, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, all three presidential candidates, and a plethora of other politicians, musicians, actors, sports figures and even a few terrorists. As i scanned the list, I wondered why the most influential man in the history of the world was not on there. Jesus might have lived some 2,000 years ago but his influence on the world has never ceased or slowed down. Jesus’ legacy is not something that was left on the cross, or in the tomb or to history in general. His legacy continues as does His work of redeeming man from their sin and ushering man into the very presence of God. He saves mankind continually from eternal separation from God and that makes Him the most influential man on the list. This list was composed based on who was the most influential in the last year, yet they ignore the most important man EVERY DAY FOR THE LAST 2000 YEARS!!!! His presence in the world and the influence He still has is as real as any of the TIME 100 but infinitely more transcendent. I love the motto of the Passion Conference which comes from Isaiah 26:8 where Isaiah says that “your name and renown are the desire of our hearts”. That is the goal of my life; to make Jesus famous and inspire worship among the nations. I guess to TIME, Jesus was not famous or important enough to make the cut. Perhaps someone is to blame. Perhaps too many christians live life hiding the light of truth under a blanket or stuffed in a back pocket as a contingency plan; maybe we are scared to offend someone, maybe there are too many “lip-service” christians who are happy to accept fire insurance without offering Jesus to a dying world.
i think the best caption that i came across in this process belongs to power couple Brangelina (Pitt and Jolie). it reads as follows: “how the star pair are working together to raise awareness of the world’s injustices”. the major injustice in the world is that Jesus is not perceived as the most influential man in the world- present or future. I am sure that all of the world racers (and all missionaries) are selling out to this one purpose. We have counted the cost and understand what is at stake. Lets make the light of Jesus shine like the tallest beacon in the world!!!!!
