This past weekend I got to fulfill a long time dream and teach the word of God to a group of women who were seeking to live life like Christ. The Lord was beyond gracious with me and gave me some great points of truth to share. The women were a mixed bag of ages, spiritual levels, and I am certain some were saved and some may not have been.
At the end of one of my sessions, I was approached by a woman who knew me from my previous place of employ. She told me that she didn't know I "had this in me" and I told her that while I do try to live my faith out loud, I am sure there are times that I don't always do it well. Now, while I don't take every comment from acquaintences to heart, I do try to listen for anything that the Lord might be telling me. I didn't take her comment as a critical need to change,however, it did get me to thinking about how people view Jesus, both as their Lord and through the lives of others...let me explain.
There have been many times over my walk with the Lord that I have viewed Jesus in a variety of ways. When I was first saved, I was so excited about everything to do with Him and my love for Him was all consuming. He was the be all for my life and I couldn't ever imagine not seeing Him as the perfect answer to everything. As the hot flame of the first love of knowing Jesus cooled and the truth of his Word was butting heads with my carnality, I began to see Jesus as a fun hater, wanting to keep me from really enjoying life as I wanted.
Then there was the period that I believe a lot of believers get to and stay stuck, sometimes until they go home with the Lord. Either one of two views prevail. The first is seeing Jesus as our genie on the shelf. We want to live our lives as we see fit, only bothering to pull Jesus off the shelf when life's circumstances overwhelm us and we finally realize our need for Him. Often we want just enough of Jesus to get us through the trouble we are currently experiencing, only to place him back up on the shelf when we are in easier times. The second is what I call the "fire proof" life...we want just enough Jesus to secure our eternity. Either position refuses to allow the Lord to infuse every aspect of our lives because deep down we want the control. My, did I live life there way too long.
The last view of Jesus is the correct view and one I hope to continue to grow in. That's the biblical view. When I study the life of Christ, I find Someone very different than what the world believes He looks like. I do not find a man who would just overlook the sins of others, but would confront those with their sin with the desire to reconcile them to the Father. I find a Man of immense compassion on a woman who was caught in sin by the hypocrits of the day, showing her grace in her repentance. I find a Man whose righteous anger cleared the moneychangers out of the house of God. I find a Man who expected those He'd invested in to live changed lives, yet love them throught the growth period. You see, I see Jesus as a Man who had the right response to the hearts of those around Him. While the world may expect me to be one of those views that they hold of Jesus, I want to pursue the biblical view. So, how do you see Him?
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