In the modern American culture, we have fallen in love with a word. This word has the power to change minds, change situations, change things that are into things that might be. "If that wide receiver had caught that ball, the Patriots would have lost the championship!" "I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those kids and that darn dog!" "If the goalie hadn't let up two goals in the last minutes, Boston would be the hockey dynasty! (I'll admit, as a big Bruins fan that really stung to type.)" "If this, if that" has become the new unbreakable argument in anything, in sports, in culture, in politics, whatever you want to say. If Quebec had voted to be an independent, French speaking nation, modern history is changed. So that brings me to the Big If. This If can change more than minds, situations, and things into things that might be. This If is a life changing, life transforming, life altering quandary, a bridge between one possible reality and another.If Jesus is who He says He is, then everything is changed. Look at the possible effects of Jesus not being who He says He is. If He isn't who He says He is, then we are most likely alone in the expanse of life. That would mean there is no God or gods, and that nothing is from a divine point of origin, creation, or start. That could also mean that there is a theistic frame work much like the deistic belief of the Seventeen Hundreds, and that God exists, but is not involved in the day-to-day life of Earth. That could also mean that perhaps we are under some pantheon of gods, maybe Ra, Seth, and Osiris, or maybe Thor, Woten, and Loki. That could mean we are gods. That could mean any infinite, unlimited things. See what I mean? If is a huge divider between things. If that wide receiver caught the ball, that's back to back championships for a team. If those kids and the dog didn't catch the bad guy, he'd have gotten away with it. If that goalie blocked those shots, maybe we'd have a new dynasty to look at (I'd like that a lot.) But that's an if quandary. There's a difference between if and is. I have a house with four walls. That is a fact. In a blizzard, I am very happy that that is a fact. If I said I have a house, and if I had four walls, I would be very happy in a blizzard. If I don't have walls, I have a roof and a floor and some rods. I have a dog, I take him to get a haircut, and he no longer looks like Rod Stewart on a bad hair day. If I have a dog, if I take him to get a haircut, and maybe he'll no longer look like Rod Stewart on a bad hair day. There is a difference between if and is.If Jesus is virgin-born, if Jesus is God, If Jesus did come back from the dead, then everything has changed. That means that there is a triune God as described in the Biblical texts, that means that this God wants to know us, wants to care for us and be with us. Larry King was asked once if he could interview one person from history, which one would it be. He responded with Jesus. And if he could ask him one question, he said that he would ask if He was, in fact, virgin born. Mr. King understood what the implication of that is. If Jesus was born of a virgin, then it's validation for who he was. And then the if becomes the is, the possible becomes the fact. There is a massive difference.As Christians, this is a fact that cannot be understated. As Believers in Jesus, this fact should still leave us in awe, because of the implications it beholds. If Jesus is who he claimed to be, then God has made intercession between us, a sinful species who has no actual right to be Him, and Himself, a majestic, powerful, omnipotent God with all power, all authority, and all majesty, in the form of Jesus. That means that we do have value, because He values us. This is not a thing to throw away. It should make us want to go and tell the world. Look at the reaction of the early church, the best example I can think of is Stephen. In Acts 7:54-56, the first part of the last part of the story of Stephen is told. "When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God's glory, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, 'Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'" In a moment, this is a common occurrence. A person said something that made a group of people mad. That's a common occurrence. But here's the unique thing, in verses 57-60, "Then they screamed at the top of their voices, stopped their ears, and rushed together against him. They threw him out of the city and began to stone him. And witnesses said their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They were stoning Stephen as he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!' Then he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And saying this, he fell asleep." "Do not charge them with this sin." That does not sound like something somebody would say while they're getting destroyed with rocks, unless somehow they were not afraid of death. It wasn't like Stephen was going to turn into a certain green monster with super human strength and beat up the Sanhedrin. He was going to die. He knew it. He gave mercy, pleaded mercy from God, for these people who killed him. Genuine, loved-filled mercy while he was being killed. That's a sign that something was different about Stephen.It's very interesting, but unbeknownst to Stephen, or anyone there, the one who held the coats was a young student, a young member of the Sanhedrin. This young man was an incredibly well learned, intelligent, and passionate Hebrew, who had the best education in the Jewish faith available. He studied under the greatest of the Rabbis and was on his way to be one himself. His Jewish name was Saul, but as a Roman citizen, he had three Roman names. The first two have been lost to history, but the last name we do know. The man we'll soon call Paul was at the stoning of Stephen. He lived on the other side of this If quandry, but after His conversion, the If because the Is, and look at what He did. He spread the Gospel through the Gentile nation. It completely changed Paul's worldview, just like it should change ours. He was not a friend to the early Church to start, but now we attribute ten books of the New Testament to him, as well as being a very, very important leader in the early church, spreading the Gospel to the Romans, the Greeks, and many other gentile nations and people. Paul went from a sourge of the early Church to one of it's greatest allies and members. That is a heart change and a fantastic one at that. That is the power of the truth. Stephen did not have a Big If. He had a Big Is. It changed him, and he died because of it. He went all the way. To him, it was the only thing that mattered. In our lives, we should reflect that same focus on the fact that Jesus is who He says He is and that we do know Him. It is a paramount occurance that should change us forever, a change that is evident in our lives and in the lives of our fellow Christians, those who know Him and reflect that through their lives and through their words. We do not follow a something, we do not follow a maybe, we do not follow a Big If. Look at what Peter, one of Christ's closest friends, says in 2 Peter 1:12-17: "Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you have. I consider it right, as long as I am in this tent, to wake you up with a reminder, knowing that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. And I will also make every effort that after my depture you will be able to recall thse things at any time. For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made know to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead we were eyewitnesses to His majesty."* We don't follow an If. We follow an Is. We follow something that Is and what it Is is a force, an untameable, all powerful God who loves endlessly. It changes everything, and everything is changed through Him. I pray we all remember that. *Emphasis mine.
