It's not a head thing...

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He is known for and associated with many things; things like the Civil War, The Gettysburg Address, The Emancipation Proclamation, The abolition of slavery and top hats. His image is so familiar that I don't know many people who would not recognize even a child's rendering of his image.

Jesus of Nazareth, however, was a Jewish man born in Bethlehem around 2,050 years ago. His mother's name was Mary, His father was a carpenter named Joseph, and His cousin was John the Baptist. Jesus taught and preached the coming of God's Kingdom, healed the sick, the blind and the lame and occasionally brought dead people back to life until his crucifixion at age 33. Three days after His death, He rose from the dead and 40 days later He ascended into Heaven on a cloud.

Algebra is probably one of the main branches of what is called pure mathematics. It deals with general statements of relations utilizing letters and other symbols to represent specific sets of numbers and/or values.

Now your probably wondering what Jesus, Abraham Lincoln and Algebra all have in common. To tell you the truth, I can't think of one thing, other than the fact that we often look at Jesus the same way we look at anything else. We can know all there is to know about Jesus of Nazareth. We can study ancient texts and learn exactly where Jesus was born, where He and His family fled to in Egypt in His early childhood, and where Golgotha was geographically located during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. We can study the Bible, and memorize every parable Jesus taught.

We can learn all that can be known about Jesus and still miss Him completely! I can affirm in my mind all the correct doctrine about Jesus and still not in my heart acknowledge Him as Lord of my daily living. If my Christianity is largely based on how much I know or how much Scripture I memorize, while failing to apply this wisdom, then I might as well be studying algebra because there is as much saving power in the historical person of Jesus Christ as there is in Abraham Lincoln.

"Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." -James 1:22