For our Melanesia cousins to the east, here is a book in your own Bislama language. It was originally written in Papua New Guinea’s own language, Tok Pisin, then translated to yours. The English title is Why Did Jesus Die?
You can download it for free by clicking on this link:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/tpgdvfkmhx13aer/Jisas_i_Mas_Ded_from_Wanem_PDF.pdf/file
Enjoy, cousins, and let us know what you think. (For you who know Tok Pisin, this can be loads of fun learning to read Bislama).
In a great hall of academia, a debate arose as to which of God’s acts in history is the greatest of all. The hall was filled with male and female Christian academics of all shapes, sizes and colors.
A booming scholarly voice opined that creation, of course, was the greatest miracle of all. Just six days of speech and the masterpiece of a universe we find ourselves in was formed.
Then a scratchy voice of a scholar said he prefers the 10 plagues in Egypt and especially the parting and closing of the Red Sea. There was a whole nation of people there [actually two nations] to observe these acts (as opposed to the “miracle” mentioned already). It was these miracles that founded of the chosen nation of God.
Next someone promoted the merits of Elijah calling down fire from heaven since it was in direct contrast to the impotence of the false gods.
This was followed by Jesus raising Lazarus, then the resurrection of Jesus himself. These knowledgeable men and women could not find agreement, it looked like consensus could never be reached.
Finally, a younger person walked forward, head down, limbs shaking. And with hesitation and an unsteady voice this person proceeded to state the following.
“I am sorry if I am out of place here, but I do want to speak my thoughts. These miracles mentioned so far are stunning, powerful, and spectacular. They can all fit into the category of “The Greatest Miracles of All Time”. The miracle I want to mention, however, was not this way. It was a quiet, almost secret one. Very few people on earth knew about it until decades later. The impact wasn’t seen very well on earth, but it must have indelibly been seen, felt, wondered about, and discussed in heaven.
“God the Son, in all of His majesty and honor, departed and was joined – irretrievably – with fallible mankind. The Incarnation of Christ has to be the greatest miracle in all of eternity. If any of you had magical power to change yourself into something different, would you change yourself permanently into an earth worm? At the incarnation, eternity was broken. Change took place in the unchangeable Godhead. God the Son became the son of Mary, the “son of man”. This was an act of compassion, of solidarity, of commitment that should keep us all stunned for a million years.
“Previous to this, no human being dared called another human being “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). Never before could it be said, “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Luke 1:43).
“Human language, human self-awareness, human future, and human VALUE changed forever at the incarnation. There could never be a greater miracle than this.”
While this young person spoke these words there was otherwise total silence in the room. Upon completion, the whole room stood, applauded loudly, shifted into prayer, confession and worship. No one knows how long this lasted, but eventually the men and women and young people throughout the room, shook hands, hugged, spoke loving and affirming words, and eventually headed home with a memory they could never forget, with an insight they must continually share with others. They enjoyed, briefly, the unforgettable taste of the peace, love, wonder, and bonding that our Most-Incredible God wants for us all.
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Cor. 9:15.
Hear Divine Words 