Why Jesus is Different–and Why it Matters to Us

In 1925, the New York World publication celebrated the birthday of Abraham Lincoln with a cartoon that has become something of a classic.  Two Kentucky farmers are pictured talking over a picket fence.  One asks, “Anything new happen lately?”  The other responds, “Nothing much.  A new baby was born over at Tom Lincoln’s place, but nothing much ever happens around here.”[1]

Can you imagine the same thing happening in Bethlehem on the night that Jesus was born?  Can you picture some people standing just outside the Inn?  “Anything new happen around here?”  “Nothing much, just a baby born down in the stable, but nothing much ever happens around here.”

The point of the cartoon in the New York World was clear: the two men had no idea how much Lincoln would impact history.  But what makes the birth—and the life—of Jesus Christ different?  This is the ultimate question for Christians.  Why is Jesus different from Lincoln or from other great figures in history such as Socrates or Gandhi?  Why is Jesus different from the many great saints in history or modern day saints like Mother Theresa or Pope John Paul II?  Why does it even matter to us?  And what does Jesus have to do with us living in holiness?

Throughout the centuries, numerous people have had a tremendous impact on history and on our own lives.  I can think of many people—Christian and non-Christian alike—that have impacted my life.  But as great as these people were or are, they only have the power to influence us.  Their lives or their words, the concepts or the techniques that they teach us, may certainly impact us; but they do not possess within their very person the power to change and transform us.

The difference between Jesus and other great figures in history is this: Jesus Christ is a divine person; and because Jesus Christ is a divine person He has within Himself not only the power to influence us but also the power to change and transform us. Jesus is God; He became man and took on our human nature to unite our humanity to His divinity.  The reason why He can change us is precisely because He united our sinful human nature to His perfect divine nature. God became man so that we could share in the divine life of God.  God became man so that we could live in union with God; and union with God is the path to holiness because God is the source of holiness.

The life of Christ, then, is not simply an event of the past.  God is eternal.  Since God became man and assumed our fallen human nature, every human being is affected.  It’s analogous to a divine electrical shock that has gone out and touched every human person in history.  You and I are now able to share in His life through grace, to actually live in union with the Lord.

Ponder this profound reality: God loves us so much that He became one of us to change us.  We all need this interior transformation.

So why does all this theology matter to us?  Well, are you struggling with sinful habits?  Do you feel that you are far from God?  Have you made decisions in your life that have led you away from the Lord?  Do you need to come back to him?  Or do you just want to be closer to him?  This is why Jesus matters and this is what Jesus can do for us: He has come to us with the power to change and transform us.  But we have to reach out in prayer to touch that power; and when we do, powerful things can happen in our lives.  We can look to role models, we can look to influential historical figures, we can read self-development books, but none of these have within themselves the divine power to change us.  Only Christ does!

How beautiful that God became a baby.  He makes himself so approachable so that we can embrace him and experience his transforming love; and He wants to embrace us.  Such amazing life-transformation can happen with God’s grace that comes to us in Christ; such amazing change can happen if we tap into the power of the sacraments.  If you know that you need to change (and we all do), if you deeply desire love, joy, and peace in your heart, then give your life to Christ and let Him change you.  It all begins with sharing your heart with Him and letting Him into your heart.

Jesus Christ is different because He has the power to transform us, in truly remarkable ways.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  We have to be careful that we don’t adopt the attitude that Jesus is just another great historical figure.  No, let the reality of the Person of Jesus Christ seize you: God loves us so much that he became one of us to change us forever!

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[1] This story is taken from Stories for All Seasons, by Gerard Fuller, O.M.I. Twenty-Third Publcations (Mystic: 2000).