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Jesus?
LIFEi s s u e s
Beckham fans are not born that way. They become that way by reading about him in newspapers and magazines. They take time out to watch him play – on the television or for real at matches – and they see the difference he makes to a match.
ALLSTAR picture library
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by Katy Gardener
ready for some stuff from Gospel writer John. A picture is building. A man emerges, walking through Palestine, healing the sick, feeding people, telling them about God, and goodness, grabbing them from the clutches of death. See a man laughing, chatting as he walks, sleeping peacefully in a boat rocked by a storm. You’d feel safe with a friend like that, wouldn’t you? So let’s move on to that is word. If you continue reading what Gospel writer John and the others have to say, you’ll find that their Superman died. A horrible death. But you’ll also find that he didn’t stay dead. There’s a stability in having a friend in high places who can never die, wouldn’t you say? If he’s still pretty much a stranger to you, but you’d like that to change, it will be necessary to get out the ‘newspapers’ and ‘magazines’ of the Bible. You’ll have to imagine the headlines, but that’s not too difficult using the stories we’ve already mentioned:
ÔMAN HEALED WITHOUT NHS HELPÕ Ô5,000 GET STUFFED ON 5 LOAVES AND 2 FISHÕ ÔDEAD OR ALIVE? LAZARUS GETS RESURRECTEDÕ Are you getting the picture? When you’ve read what the Gospel writers have said, read what his closest friends said about what happened after their hero died and came back to life. Peter reveals all in ‘Acts’, and in his letters 1 Peter and 2 Peter. Next, you really ought to talk to people who know Jesus today, and listen when they tell you what a difference he has made in their lives, is making. Jesus doesn’t want to be a figment of someone’s imagination. He wants to be your friend. Need a Bible to check these things out for yourself? Contact: lifeinfomag@aol.com Or write to LIFE.info magazine at the address on page 2.
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LIFEi s s u e s
Who
That’s how you become a fan of Jesus. You get to know about him, then you ask him to tag along with you, and you begin to see the difference he makes. But hang on! Asking who Jesus is contrasts sharply with asking who Beckham is. Beckham is still alive. Jesus Christ was born over 2,000 years ago. So what’s with the is? Shouldn’t it be was? I’ll come to that in a minute. First, let me ask you if you have ‘heroes’. We all do. We all want Superman to save the planet yet again, we all want the badtempered detective to solve the crime and get the criminal ‘banged to rights’, we all want the ER doctors to save the patient in the nick of time. We love the people who run fastest, jump the longest, and brighten our lives in the doing of it. Imagine someone coming into your life, your community, your town who can • heal just by speaking • feed 5,000 people with a boy’s packed lunch • bring people back to life with a shout. What a following we’d give someone who could do all that, and more, today. They’d certainly be making the headlines. Well, there is someone just like that, and he’s the only person ever born on this planet who has had all the days of all the centuries carry his name. AD2002. Anno Domini 2002. The Year of the Lord 2002. BC (before Christ) to AD, he’s always been there. Maybe it’s just a case of needing more information. You need info about Beckham, read the glossies. You need info about Jesus, read the Bible. Not the whole Bible to begin with. Start with what Gospel writer Matthew says. (Gospel means ‘good news’, by the way.) Follow the life of Jesus by dipping into of Gospel writer Luke’s book. By then you’ll be