You have seen the pictures of Jesus – peace filled eyes, love filled smile, and children sitting on His knee. You have seen it and - admit it - you like it. We all do. We like the picture of a smiling, baby-kissing, multitude-feeding Jesus.
But what happens when Jesus doesn’t fit into our picture of Christianity? What happens when He drives the moneychangers with a whip? Or screams at the Pharisees, or walks up a dark hill beaten almost to death? Where do you catalogue Jesus when His whip torn flesh scrapes against the cross? Into what conventional religion does a God like that fit?
The answer – He doesn’t. You can’t shut Him in a box. You can’t neatly fold His attributes around Him and lay Him in a drawer. His name doesn’t fit on the catalogue card marked “Gods”.
The Jesus we serve, the Jesus we love, He simply doesn’t fit. He isn’t the figurehead of Christianity, He’s the bridegroom of the church. He isn’t the theologian of salvation, He’s the friend of sinners. His mission was that simple, His love that personal. And that is what makes anything but the most impersonal Christianity so uncomfortable. You have to throw yourself into Jesus and pray that He will catch you. You have to trust and believe Him for every moment.
He has asked for a radical faith because He is a radical God. There is no half-hearted commitment, no baby step procedure. He has asked you to throw yourself on His mercy because He threw Himself between you and judgment. He threw Himself into our world, into our lives, into our sin and filth, and ultimately He threw Himself on our Roman Cross.
That’s not a God you can limit or cage. That’s not your run-of-the-mill supernatural being. That’s creator God at His unchanging finest. Love you can’t fathom, grace you can’t reason, and joy you can’t contain.
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Wowzer, this is powerful stuff. I needed to hear this message today. Your heart comes shining through every word.
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Jewel Chest
Oh my-this is wonderful! You made me envision a loving, caring, and powerful, vibrant Christ who has done all things with power and authority-even in submission to His Father's will. I repeat, wonderful!
