I think that the late apologist Norman Geisler answered this question well when he said: “So I cast my lot with him-not the one who claimed wisdom, Confucius; or the one who claimed enlightenment, Buddha; or the one who claimed to be a prophet, Muhammad, but with the one who claimed to be God in human flesh. The one who declared, ‘Before Abraham was born, I am’ – and proved it.”1
Casting our lot with someone implies that we not only are going to follow that individual but his teachings. In our world today where so many people follow celebrities, world leaders, and yes even pastors, there is a great danger because these human beings inevitably will fail us and often crush our spirits. But following Jesus is different because He is the only person in history that will never fail us and His teachings will always keep us on the road to peace and joy.
My friends there is just something so different about Jesus when compared with other great world luminaries. I love how Carnegie Simpson put it: “Instinctively we do not class Him with others. When one reads His name in a list beginning with Confucius and ending with Goethe we feel it is an offense less against orthodoxy than against decency. Jesus is not one of the group of the world’s great. Talk about Alexander the Great and Charles the Great and Napoleon the Great if you will…Jesus is apart. He is not the Great; He is the Only. He is simply Jesus…. He confounds our canons of human nature.”2
When a person casts their lot with Jesus they are guaranteed to embark on the most exciting adventure of a lifetime. Following Jesus not only will enrich your life with great purpose and meaning but will seal the deal about where you will spend eternity after you depart from this life. We are all created with a desire to have a spiritual connection with something greater than ourselves and Jesus is the only person that can truly fulfill that desire. All other people fall short in this area because as mere humans they are hopelessly flawed and are the farthest things worthy of worship. Only Jesus is worthy of our devotion and worship because only Jesus is God incarnate. He will never disappoint us, will always uplift us, and promises us what no other person can give – eternal life!
Two thousand years have come and gone and still Jesus stands unique among all individuals on planet earth. He is the real deal, the true joy giver, the answer to every question, and the only brilliant light in a dark and gloomy world. Even the great scientist, Albert Einstein, who did not believe in a personal God, understood that there was just something special about Jesus Christ when he remarked: “As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene…No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”3
I praise God that over 42 years ago Jesus captured my heart and I have never looked back. I pray that if you have not cast your lot with Jesus that you will do it today!
1 Quote by Norman L. Geisler: “So I cast my lot with him-not the one who claim…” (goodreads.com)
2 Charlie H. Campbell, Apologetics Quotes (Carlsbad, California: The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry, 2020), pp. 91-92.
3 Charlie H. Campbell, Apologetics Quotes (Carlsbad, California: The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry, 2020), p. 19.