When discussing the pros and cons of some item or subject matter, you want to make sure you are not comparing apples to oranges.  I was reminded of this last week when working a crossword puzzle.  The clue was “kitty.”  The answer required a three letter word, so I wrote “cat.”  After working other parts of the puzzle, I came to the conclusion that “cat” was wrong and the correct answer was “pot.”

The synapse in my brain had created a visual image of an animal, but the clue was correlated with gambling:  When you place a bet, you add to the “kitty” or the “pot.”

I asked myself:  “If the clue had been “pot,” what would I have answered?  I doubt I would have associated it with gambling.  Some people may have thought of marijuana or weed, but since I like to eat, I would have thought of pots and pans for cooking.

When I think of “pot,” I also think of Jesus.  He stirred the theological pot with each one of His “I Am” statements.  Whenever Jesus said “I AM” He was making a Messianic claim, and this angered the Pharisees:

• “I am the bread of life” (6:35, 41, 48-51)
• “I am the light of the world” (8:12, 9:5)
• “I am the door of the sheep” (10:7, 9)
• “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep” (10:11,14)
• “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25)
• “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6)
• “I am the true vine” (15:1,5)

Jesus also brought the pot to a boil when He overruled the powers of nature and performed the following miracles:

• Jesus changed water into wine at a wedding feast (2:1-12).
• Jesus healed the son of a royal official (4:43-54).
• Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years (5:1-15).
• Jesus multiplied seven loaves and fishes to feed the 5,000 people (John 6:1-5).
• Jesus walked on water and calmed the waves to rescue his disciples (6:16-24).
• Jesus healed a man born blind, giving him sight (9:1-12).
• Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44).

There are people today who will say Jesus was a good man and a religious teacher, but they deny that He is the Son of God and Savior of the world.  There’s a problem with this line of thinking.  A good man and a religious teacher with high morals would not make false claims about the essence of his being.

This leaves three options.  Either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or He is the Lord.  If I had to throw my chips into the “kitty” or the “pot,” I’d go all in on Jesus:  He’s my Lord and Savior!