Who the heck is Shelby Lynne??

I was reading the editorial in a magazine put out by Campus Crusade in the States called Y-Jesus. This magazine takes a look at some of the different evidence and research compiled about the life of Jesus Christ. The editor's main point was that Jesus in unique because he has survived the test of time. Our culture is so enthralled in magazines such as Us and Entertainment Weekly, but I am certain that if we looked at one of those magazines from a year or two ago there would be many people who we have no idea who they are. One example is this Shelby Lynne. You can see in the above picture that she won a Grammy. It was for "Best New Artist" in the year 2001. This is only a couple of years ago, but now she is unheard of. Our celebrities are in and out of popularity so fast. In one day, out the next. Many people receive their 15 minutes and then all of a sudden it is over. Think of the Simpsons episode when Bart becomes famous for his "I didn't do it" line. He had posters, pull-string stuffed toys, etc. But then one day no one cared anymore, and he was kicked out of Krusty's studio faster than he was brought in. I know that this is just a cartoon, but it illustrates something in our culture so well.

Then there is Jesus. Here is a guy born in a stable in a little town in the Middle East called Bethlehem. He grew up as the son of a carpenter, and had only 3 years of public ministry. Jerusalem was nothing in the Roman world... it would be like a someone who became famous from Nunivut, and then staying in Nunivut as opposed to moving to LA or New York or Toronto. Imagine if Shania Twain had stayed in Timmins, or if Avril Lavigne had stayed in Napean. They wouldn't be the superstars they are today. Yet Jesus didn't move to Rome, where all the spotlight was. And now his legacy is still renown 2000 years later. There is no one in all of history who has a following so long after their time on earth. There are some famous people who we can still remember from his time or even before, but they are reduced to our dusty history books. Jesus has a following that has not spread by magazines or award shows or political campaigns. He is renown and loved by many because there is something that is different about him, that separates him from other famous leaders like Napoleon, Martin Luther King Jr., or the Many famous Roman Caesars. The thing that separates Jesus from the rest is that he is God. He was fully God and fully Human, something that our finite minds will always struggle to fully understand.

10 years from now names like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will more than likely be obscure figures that we will want to search on Google to remember them. They maybe cool because they will be old school, kinda like how we appreciate Michael J. Fox and his role Back to the Future. But Jesus will remain one of the most popular figures in history, and people will still be talking about him. People will still be arguing that he was just a good teacher, or a prophet, or Son of God, etc, but his followers will remain and so will his fame and renown because he is unlike any other figure in history.