More Than Just a Man

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They say that you cannot judge a book by its cover while they do everything but look beyond the cover. I am continually ignored by women in favor of men who are sexier or “richer”. We like life to be simple, and so we form complete opinions about complex people and subjects based on limited access and information, incorrectly extrapolating snapshots into the entire picture. Every time we do that, we run the risk of missing out on something great. CS Lewis wrote that there is no such thing as a mere mortal, that it is immortals with whom we hobnob, that we exploit, whom we mock, and who we cheat. In reality, we’re cheating ourselves. I don’t have any friends who would have chosen to become my friends based on first contact, and that truly is their loss. The beard is not the man; the Saturn I drive is not the man; the lab coat is not the man. Even then, I am not The Man.

Several years ago, renowned concert violinist Joshua Bell spent 45 minutes in a New York Subway Station playing. Over 1000 people passed by without registering his presence. A statistically insignificant number gave him money, and even fewer stopped to listen to him play. You see, without the orchestra, the ornate seats, and all the trappings, they didn’t realize they were in the presence of greatness.

As they hurried on their way, they had the chance to hear for free the working talents of a man blessed with a musical acumen to which most can only aspire. In their haste to get to their destination, they missed a chance to observe something spectacular by the way. Most of them probably assumed he was a peddler playing for pocket change. Few of them probably like the pieces he played let alone recognized them. All of them had a chance to get something completely free that normally comes at great cost. Most people ignored this man, and they missed something special.

Over the last few months, I decided to use my breaks to boost my metabolism, get in shape, and lose weight. This means that I walk all over the campus with a loaded backpack trying to sweat off some fat. In the course of these travels, I encounter lots of pretty young ladies, but none of them seem to be interested in looking at me again. Like the girls at Zion back in February, there is something about me that they just don’t find all that attractive. I will confess that I’m probably a six on a scale of 1-10 in terms of attractiveness, and I look like a 2 on the same scale in terms of wealth. Judging me by the cover would indicate that you should keep walking.

This semester, however, I have found a lot of people interested in commending me to others. An old friend from a previous congregation, a neighbor of my parents, and even one of my current students have decided that I’m on their short list of good people of quality to introduce to their friends. So far, nothing has come of any of these introductions. When I used to have an online dating profile, I think I attracted little interest because I was honest. I learned that if I was going to be damned anyway, I was going to be damned for who I really was. After we cover the chemistry commensurate with the curriculum, I discuss politics, philosophy, history, grammar, and a host of other subjects with my students. They ask why I don’t teach those things, but I can’t because I lack credentials so to do. As Sir Walter Scott once said, “every man who ever amounted to anything had the chief hand in his own education”. I have made myself into what I am, and you can’t tell what exactly I am unless you get to know me. I might be a “C” when it comes to looks, but I make up for that in character, conversation, and company. Most people ignore me, and they miss something special.

For all of my life, I have made it a matter of regular attention to think about, talk about, learn about, and emulate Christ. Over the last year, most of my posts eventually end up here, whereas previously they revolved a little more around politics and things of a mortal persuasion. One of my former students last fall commented on how rare it was to find someone possessed of such faith as myself, and she hoped her young daughters would be able to find someone with as powerful a connection to God as myself. You see, as a Christian, everything for which I hope revolves around the suffering and resurrection. If Christ did take upon Himself our sins and rise from the dead, we can be resurrected and then return to God’s presence.

Particularly in this city, however, the interest seems to lie around pernicious and licentious behavior. People don’t seem to care too much how they obtain what they obtain, only in what they obtain. I just saw at lunch today a woman on the freeway in an expensive car with an attractive male driving, and she looked incredibly unhappy. She has everything that the world thinks should make people happy, and she looks chronically cranky. If you do not choose Christ, I think it matters very little what you do choose. Vegans like to indulge in every lust of the flesh imaginable and still consider themselves in the peerage of the vigilant and the virtuous because they patronize good causes with their ill-gotten gains. They do not need a Savior, they do not want a Savior, and they do not turn to the Savior, even though He continues to give us His protection and prosperity while they waste away the days of their mortal probation. Most people ignore the Savior, and they miss everything.

As we hurry along in our lives, busy to get things done, we miss the chance to draw near to a man possessed of everything worthy of possession. In our haste to achieve our goals, we miss the chance to appreciate the small by the way and to achieve and experience something better. Most of us usually assume that Christ is a lunatic or that His promises cannot or will not ever come. Few of us recognize His majesty, His might, His hand or even really love Him as evinced by the fact that we continually ignore His suggestions and violate His commandments. All of us have the chance to obtain something completely free that comes at so great a cost that we cannot hope to afford it ourselves.

Christ was more than just a man. He was someone special. He did not leave it open to us to believe He was a great moralist, a great teacher, a regular rabbi, or a philosopher. He did not intend to. He was the son of God, and He made sure that everyone who claims to believe His words must also accept that or dismiss Him as a lunatic. Each of us who decides not to follow Him, to learn more about Him and draw nearer to Him miss more than my friendship or a great concert. We miss all that the Father hath. Behold, The Man: