Two-dimensional. Bland. Unrelatable. This is how Jesus is so often portrayed in sermons, books, art, and religion. It’s not very captivating, is it? No wonder this type of Jesus gets side-lined in people’s lives, a nice addition on Sunday morning, but not someone who keeps our attention throughout the week.
I just started reading John Eldredge’s book, Beautiful Outlaw. He describes Jesus as playful, witty, irreverent, fierce– someone with personality! I love this quote:
If you do not know Jesus as a person, know his remarkable personality– playful, cunning, fierce, impatient with all that is religious, kind, creative, irreverent, funny– you have been cheated.
If you do not experience Jesus intimately, daily, in these very ways, if you do not know the comfort of his actual presence, do not hear his voice speaking to you personally– you have been robbed.
If you do not know the power of his indwelling life in you, shaping your personality, healing your brokenness, enabling you to live as he did– you have been plundered.
I don’t want to be inoculated by a “nice” picture of Jesus. I’m not looking for safe, or tame, or sweet. I want dangerous and life-giving and adventurous. I want to walk on the edge of life with the One who challenges, stretches, and molds me into his likeness. That’s the Jesus I want to give my life to. How about you?
Today I'm Happy 