Through What He Said (turn the other cheek, bless those who persecute you, your sins are forgiven!)…What He Did (healing the blind, feeding the 1000s, turning the temple tables upside down, confronting the religious leaders!)…and What He Claimed (I am the WAY, the TRUTH, & the LIFE…no one comes to the Father except through ME), Jesus was determined that we would not miss Him…that we would not confuse Him with just a soft-spoken, mild-mannered, moral teacher.
Jesus was fierce and strong and bold. He drew crowds, and He repelled them. He took on the sin of the whole world, and He defeated death itself. Jesus is like no one else in the world!
Whatever other pictures you’ve had of your “fake Jesus,” whether it’s…
- Happiness Jesus… (here to meet your needs, do as you’d like, & make your life happy)
- Homespun Jesus (a Jesus you’ve crafted out of what your grandmother always told you mixed in with your own ideas)
- Fix-Me Jesus… (a genie always ready to come fix you up & make you all better)
- Green Jesus… (more concerned with saving the planet than rescuing people)
- Right Wing Jesus… (who shockingly always votes Republican & who always agrees with you)
- Co-dependant Jesus… (who perpetuates your emotional brokenness)
I want to challenge you to become so discontent with the “fake Jesus” you’ve crafted to meet your needs that you would pitch him forever. Whoever he is, if he’s not the Jesus we read about in the pages of Scripture, he is an imposter, and he will ultimately leave you disappointed or disillusioned.
The real Jesus is the only One strong enough to confront death and free you from its power. He is the only One who can heal your heart and make you whole. He is the only One through whom we receive forgiveness of our sins. He is the One who heals marriages, breaks addictions, restores families, makes stingy people generous and unfaithful people faithful. I pray you’ll consider the real JESUS on His own terms.
Jesus didn’t come to repair you & make you happy. He came to redeem you & make you whole. The question is do you want happiness or wholeness? If it’s wholeness, you’ll come to Jesus on His terms…as He really is. If it’s happiness, you’ll manipulate, emasculate, and shrink Him until it’s not Jesus at all. It’s your choice…happiness for a day or wholeness for a lifetime.
I pray you’ll choose wholeness. I pray you’ll choose the real Jesus.
