Thought of the Day 08.05.09

Have you ever heard someone say that Jesus was a great moral teacher whose purpose was to give us a set of wonderful moral instructions and then to serve as an outstanding example of them for us to imitate?

I think the people who say this genuinely believe they are being helpful. For my part, however, if I actually believed this, all I could do is weep. If my task is to try to measure up to Jesus, either in word or deed, then I am in deep trouble. Far from comforting me, Jesus as moralist condemns me every hour of my life. His doctrine made moral perfection seem so hopelessly unattainable that I might as well quit. Then, making things worse, He took away my excuses by living flawlessly Himself.

That’s why I always think that people who describe Him as our example know neither how surpassingly excellent He was nor how abysmally awful we are. What I need from Jesus is precisely what He offers: to give me what He deserves and to take from me what I deserve.