Deep inside every human being there is an awareness of God. A desire to find Him. And every religion is a search for God. However, the differences between religions in their thinking about God, are immense!
Knowing the truth is of life importance
- In Buddhism there is not a personal God. It is about the teaching of the Buddha to be freed out of the wheel of reincarnation
- In Hinduism there are more than 1000 gods. Brahma, Vishnu and Krishna are the most important ones
- In Islam, Allah does not have a son. Isa is just a prophet
- In Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God, who came on earth as our Savior
Which religion is right? It is easy to say: “It doesn’t really matter in which religion a person believes. They are all heading in the same direction. As long as we accept each other’s beliefs it will be OK.” But that’s far too easy! Of course it is a good thing to respect each other. But when it comes to religion, it is of life importance to know the truth. “This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). It is simply impossible to equate all religions. They are vastly different. Only one can be true.
The uniqueness of Jesus’ mission
What is so unique of the message of the Bible? What is so special about Jesus? I once read: “There are many people who would like to be god, but there is only one God who was willing to become a man.” That hits a central point of difference. While in most religions the challenge is that we have to climb up to God, in the Bible we discover that God came down to mankind. There is an old story that makes it clear:
There once was a man, who fell into a dry pit. It was impossible for him to climb out. Then he heard footsteps and he saw the face of the Buddha. He asked for help and the Buddha said: This is your karma. Use this chance to detach yourself from all desires. A bit later, Mohammed came by. He asked for help. Mohammed said: The will of God is perfect and you have to accept it. One by one, all religious leaders came by and had their advices. Finally Jesus came by. He did not say anything, but He climbed down in the pit, He took the man in His arms and blessed him. Then He let him climb on His shoulders, so he could get out of the pit. The man was thankful and happy: he was free again! Then he realized, that Jesus had taken his place in the pit.
Jesus is the only way to God
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 about Jesus: “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” And Jesus Himself said in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Through Jesus, you can come to God. He lifts you up out of the pit of sin and brings you back to God. That is the unique message of the Bible, which has no equivalent in other religions.