By Clieveland McLeish, Contributor
I often picture Jesus walking through the streets of Bethlehem or Gallilee. I imagine Him being exalted as Messiah, King, Redeemer. And then comes the most bitter part of my imagination....His death.
He was the Great Shepherd yet during His ministry He told His disciples that He came not to be served but to serve and 33 years into His life, like a sheep, He was led to the slaughter.
A sheep when it is about to be killed, slightly tilts its head and accepts death with silence and great humility -- unlike goats.
Jesus was a sheep as well as a shepherd, man as well as God and He set a perfect example for us to follow.
Then came Satan, the number one enemy of God and man. Though he was the Light-bearer, morning star, prince of this world, holding one of the highest ranks among angels in Heaven, he was not satisfied with being less than his creator. He wanted to be equal to God, thus pride entered into his heart and he rebelled against God with one third of God's angels joining forces with him. Of course, they (Satan and his cronies) lost the battle that ensued and they were cast out. Satan also sets an example. He is rebellious, full of pride, self-centered -- everything he does is for his own gain. That is the example I see being followed by many individuals in these last and trying days.
To many, to be like Christ is for 'sissies.' A real man follows his own path regardless of where it leads. Body parts are pierced, lungs are destroyed by smoking, liver damaged by drinking alcohol, we curse, insult God's gift of sex that should be shared between two (Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve or Alice and Eve) in the context of marriage; gamble our little earnings away and go home hungry, and the list goes on. We do this to prove to the world that we are our own man and woman.
Two examples, two choices. We can either follow the path of Satan, whose very nature we are born with and end up spending eternity with him in the lake of fire or we can choose another path that Jesus Christ made for us.
Only Jesus can free you from the bondage of sin. There is hardly a sinner who would admit that they are in bondage, but they are. A simple test is to try and stop sinning. Try to stop smoking, drinking, cursing, committing fornication or lying and you will see the chains more clearly.
Thank God that Jesus came to set the captives free.
-Clieveland writes from Old Harbour
