The Living Jesus

 Jesus is alive.
It is not that we are committed to an idea; or that we have bought into certain principles by which we will live our lives.  It is much more that we are talking about.    
Many around the world will say that they follow the teachings of _______ (fill in the blank: Marx, Confucius, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther, and others).  But they do not talk about a personal relationship with them, or talk to them.

What would happen if I visited the tomb of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois and claimed to be having a conversation with him?  I would stand a pretty good chance of having the guards take me by the arms and lead me away.  The whole world knows that anyone who claims to talk with Abraham Lincoln and thinks he answers is not fully sane.

We say prayer is talking with Jesus.  The rest of the world may look at us as odd and old fashioned, religious fanatics and out of touch.  But they do not try to tell us that it's "just as insane" as talking with Napoleon.

The claim that Jesus is alive is so powerful a claim and it is right at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.  Even the world around us has backed off and ridicules prayer for other reasons.

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