Every parent and teacher wrestles with Why?
As a new teacher my go-to response to Why? was Because I said so!
After all, I’m the teacher. I make the rules, right? End of discussion.
Took a lot of years for me to realize that Because I said so! was simply coercion. I have more power and control, so you have to do what I say. I’m bigger, stronger, more powerful, and can punish you in some manner if you fail to comply.
I eventually decided that if Because I said so! was my best response, perhaps I ought to re-think my idea.
An idea that can only be advanced by coercion is a bad idea.
How do you and I advance our ideas?
Jesus never resorted to coercion. With the power of the universe at His fingertips, He chose to mentor an ordinary group of flawed individuals and use them to spread His message in the most imperfect, non-coercive manner imaginable.
He could have zapped folks into compliance. He chose instead a gentle invitation to accept the gift of His sacrifice.
Jesus chose to advance the most important message in history in the most non-coercive manner.
Then He said, “Follow me.”