The Jesus factor
Martha Olawale
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10
The Jesus factor is rooted in absolution because His mission to die for the sins of mankind was once and for all. None before Christ and after Him can compare to anything He represents. He was a perfect human, and He is a perfect God. Abraham is regarded as the father of faith, but even he can’t compare.
The weight we carry as humans, living in a broken world and at odds with our maker, is heavy, and we are sinking under it. Our emotions are all over the place and out of control because they are created to surrender to God. Our paths have become cloudy and difficult to navigate because they should lead to Him. And the farther away we draw from Christ, the heavier our humanity becomes. God knows we were not meant to carry the weight and offered Himself as a sacrifice to free us from the entanglements, but we question His intent.
Our human instincts will always go off the rail each time we try to do the math of life on our own. It can’t add up without God. We are imperfect mortals in need of a perfect Savior, and the death of Christ on the cross gives us a pathway to walking in His perfection. I’ve learned to stop trying to move mountains on my own when I know I can’t even change the course of a molehill. Only the Jesus factor in anyone’s life gives it meaning, and we need to stop seeking good in people instead of leading them to the only good in life, God.
Righteousness is not something I can achieve; it’s something I received through my salvation in Christ. If you are looking for anything good in me, look at Jesus in me. If you see hope, love, peace, and rest in my life, trace them back to the cross. Christ owns the credit for any positivity I exude, and I can’t even try to be a good human because I already know I can’t be. The Jesus factor makes all the difference in how I treat others and respond to the world around me. And although my humanity raises the ugly heads of pride and prejudice now and then, the surpassing grace of God sees perfection in me because of Christ.
