In chapter four of his letter, learning Christ is Paul’s warning to the church at Ephesus. Have you ever considered what it means to learn Christ? Well, for one, learning Christ is about learning His actions. One writer spoke to this in a dramatic and insightful piece. The writer is unknown, but his words are living. Listen to them now. He came from splendor to be born in poverty. He left the presence of angels for the company of me. He laid down a scepter in heaven to be laid in a manger and exchanged the worship of Archangels for the praise of lowly shepherds. He walked into the world with all the power of Almighty God at his bidding, but he was carried out a mutilated body lowered from a cross.

He rebuked the pious, but he comforted the sinner. He refused earthly Kingship, although he was still a King. He loved his mother yet gave her away at the Cross. He healed the broken-hearted, yet he died with a broken heart. He loved the fellowship of friends yet was cast out by his kinsmen. He rebuked both sage and seer, then blessed the little children. He held an executive meeting on the Mount of Transfiguration, then wept alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. He could walk on water but could not walk away from the tears in the eyes of the Widow from Nain. He could command the stars in their orbits, but he refused to change the circumstances of his own execution. His mission was a commitment to free all men, yet he was imprisoned on the testimony of one man. He delivered many from pain, but he was delivered to suffer agonizing pain. He dried the eyes of multitudes, but no one dried his eyes in Gethsemane. He carried the world’s burdens, but only one was brought forth to help him bear his Cross to Calvary. His execution was considered insignificant but became the controversy of the ages. His life was extinguished in a brief second of time but then ignited to lighten the world. His short span of thirty-three years on Earth should have passed unnoted was it possible, but no one life has ever had such an impact on the minds of men. His three and one-half years in the public eye were brief indeed, but his achievements are the greatest ever recorded. He has inspired more men, conquered more hearts, delivered more prisoners, and consoled more mourners than any figure in the history of man. He spoke of love but was murdered with hate. He shared all he had, then on the Cross, he shared paradise with a thief. He gave the World light, only to be driven into the cavern of Death. He gave mankind guidance, only to be guided to Golgotha. He pointed men to the Tree of Life; they nailed him to a tree on a hill called the Skull. He laid down a scepter in heaven, to be laid in a borrowed tomb. He walked out of heaven, pure, perfect, and beautiful. He returned beaten, mutilated, and nail-scarred. He fulfilled all that was written of him, yet man did not believe Him. His coming changed the course of nations; his return will be to judge the nations. His title was simple, as stated on the Cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” but to those who have ever known him, He is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.¹ This Jesus, who is called the Christ, is our focus today. Why You Should Learn Christ and Understand It’s Not Jesus Last Name, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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How to Get to Be the Strong Man God Wants You to Be

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