“Jesus is our bench”

We believe that there are only two paths you can choose to live your life: a life without Him or a life with Him. And we prefer the latter! There are many instances in our lives where we cannot find meaning in everything we do without His presence. As a curious Christian seeking for an understanding of Christ, I have come into my consciousness that I am nothing without Him. I would only be physically present but there is no meaning in my existence. Living a life without God is not a purpose-driven life. He is the purpose of our living—to worship, praise Him, and live the life the way Jesus did. He had proven to us that He should be the center of our lives. We can consider Him as our strength, hope, our guiding star. On a personal note, with regards of our student life, it’s very evident that our days without prayers bring incompleteness. At a certain situation, during examinations he could be the only one where we run for help. We ask for His’ holy guidance that could somehow strengthen us in studying hard and keep us in focus. In the verge of doubts and inhibitions we ask for His’ advice. In the midst of frustrations, the first and the only person we can rely on is God, we feel relief with just a simple conversation with Him. It’s something that I could not live without talking with Him creating an atmosphere away from problems and concerns. During pains that you could not find someone to cry on, He is always there to comfort you in way that only God knows. Moreover, Jesus is also the truth. This means that he is truthful. Certainly, we may rest assured that he is completely reliable in what he says and what he does. Jesus is the truth personified. He is the embodiment of the truth that by his saving work he sets us free from sin and death. He is the dependable source of God’s saving grace. Jesus makes this saving grace a reality in our lives when we accept in faith the gospel of salvation. A passage from Mt 26:52 saying “They that take to the sword shall perish by the sword” is an indication that Jesus doesn’t want things to be done in a ruthless way. Jesus can be described in various terms. However, the passage states that Jesus is a teacher of moral values. He has thought us to be righteous for it is his’ words in text. He has thought us not to steal and has thought us not to cheat in class for the possibility of being caught. The order of Christ to one of his disciples to take away his sword and not to use it only meant that it is wiser for men to play fairly.

Furthermore, God is like the benches that we see everywhere, particularly in our school. Unconsciously, the benches usually help us. We cannot appreciate it anyway, but in fact it has done a lot of things to us. The benches are always present and are always there. When we get tired, it’s there to offer us a seat. When we have problems may it be our boyfriend, family and studies, the benches are there to offer us relaxation and comfort. When we want to talk to someone, we search for a bench for a more convenient conversation. It sometimes frees us from stress and can take you away from the world bombarded with problems. The benches, just like Jesus, doesn’t complain and choose whom to offer a seat. It simply does so without a single word of complaint. It offers a seat to the wicked, to the rich and to the poor and to everyone who needs it.

However, Jesus is not a bench. He is more than a bench. He is more than any names that we know. Though the presence of Jesus in our lives gives us same things which a bench can offer, He cannot be equated to an object for He is more than anything else. There is no best title to describe Jesus but the word “God”. Jesus is God himself.