Images of Christ

"Fake people have an image to maintain; Real People don't..."

                                                                                   ~ Anonymous

Like millions of other people, I have met many fake people in my life. In fact, until I had cancer, I truly didn't realize how many false people there were.
And sadly, I found many of them within the halls of the Church; sitting on the same pews as true, devoted worshipers of the Lord.

In my down time, especially when I started getting sick again and had to have my spleen removed, what exactly would a Christian be or do to accurately reflect a true image of Jesus?
We, as Christians, are to follow Christ - to become more like Him.
If that is true, what would that look like?
What would you and I look like?

Well, I have a few observations and it seems to me modern Christians fail horribly at reflecting the true nature and essence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Greatest Story Ever Told

If you go back a half-century, or even further for that matter, you will find Jesus as one of the popular subjects of filmmakers. 
Yet, in these old movies such as, 'The Greatest Story Ever Told,' Jesus appears flat, emotionless, moving through society unaffected by the rest of the world.
One has described this variation of the Lord - 'The Prozac Jesus.'

But the Gospels paint an entirely different picture of Jesus; the carpenter from Nazareth was very charismatic - people followed Him from town to town, not just for what He might provide them but rather, what He could teach them about God.
And they had never heard anybody teach of God like He could; that makes sense because He is the only person who had first-hand experience of God's presence.

Several years ago, a television ministry was soliciting funds for a new statue of a 'Smiling Jesus' to be placed on their church grounds.
I can remember the minister asking the masses to give, 'Twenty million dollars for Jesus Christ.'
It made me sick to my stomach.
Anyway, when I finally got to see the statue, it had an image of Jesus grinning so big that He looked as if He was about to come to life and eat me with all those teeth.
Now, I don't think Jesus was a first century comic; yet, the Gospels are clear that Jesus experienced the same feelings we experience today.

The Gospels also show Jesus as being 'moved with compassion' several times.
When I think of the Lord's compassion, I think of holding the hurting, helping the homeless, ministering to special needs, loving people simply because Jesus loved me.
That's real compassion - and we should seek to be more like Him.
 

Like us, the very things that are troubling in our lives, troubled Jesus as well.
One bishop several centuries ago stated that while on the earth, Jesus never once laughed or smiled; yet, that image just doesn't fit.
The Gospels record Jesus as having a wide range of emotions in His interactions with people; when they rejoiced, so did Jesus. When they were sorrowful, so was He.


The fact is, the Prozac Jesus doesn't exist; not then and not now - nor should this somber, otherworldly image be the image Christians produce (falsely) for the world to see.
For God is just not like that; He is involved with us because of His great love.


We have a hard time understanding Jesus, maybe more today than ever before.
For Jesus is unlike any man who has ever graced the Earth.

Unlike most men, Jesus turned attention away from Himself and on to others.
To one who was sick, 'Your faith has healed you...'
To Nathaniel - Jesus proudly exclaimed, 'A true Israelite in whom there is no guile...'
Of John The Baptist, Jesus said of him, '...none greater had been born of woman.'
To the volatile Peter, Jesus called him 'The Rock.'

Church Auctioned Off

Jesus even defended a woman who engaged in an extravagant act of worship and said of her that her generosity toward Him would forever be told.

Unfortunately, most men and even Christians, prefer to turn attention to themselves and glory in the rewards. Jesus didn't - He took joy in the faith accomplishments of others.
Maybe if modern Christians spent more time looking at their own hearts and turning the glory over to others in humility, we wouldn't have the competition among one another or the power struggles within churches we have today.
But I digress.

When dealing with people of all ranks and status of society, Jesus cut instantly to the heart of the matter.
In doing so, Jesus revealed to the individual He could be trusted; in return, people felt natural sharing even the most intimate details of their lives fairly quickly with Him.
Jesus knew how to speak to that deep hunger all men have within them; in doing so, people actually liked being with Jesus.
That wasn't true of the religious people of His time, nor of our time.

The truth is, many sinners and unbelievers can't stand being around self-proclaimed Christians because they act nothing like Jesus.
That is to say, they live in a grace-deprived world, where they neither receive nor dispense God's greatest gift to humanity.

Most Christians act and behave in a way that is in accordance with the world's standards and it is very difficult to distinguish between a believer and a nonbeliever.
Yet, when Jesus was on Earth, He proclaimed to all, 'This world is not my home...'
The same is true of Christians, we're simply passing through this proving ground; but how different we are in our time on earth than Jesus.
For most, I would say we are too comfortable and have grown accustom to this fallen world.

One thing that continues to amaze me about Jesus is the fact that is unique in and of Himself in history, yet He preferred the average believer instead of a seemingly squeaky clean student of the Law.
He owns such power, which made Him the envy of the secular authorities; but He remained in Palestine His entire life.
I wonder what such a man could have done in the metropolises of the day, such as Rome or Alexandria.

Small Churches Reach the World

Yet, as Jesus preferred small towns and common people; we can see that much of His work continues to go on two-thousand years later through small towns, average people and quaint congregations.
And strikingly similar, His emissaries in those small towns, the under-shepherds we call 'Pastors,' they are still crucified today for standing with Him.


Of Jesus the Nazarene, the Christ - I know of no parallels anywhere in the annals of history. 
He came full of grace and truth; how many of His followers can say the same today?

Amazingly, the Gospels tell of demons and spirits who never failed to recognize Jesus as the Christ, or as one put it, 'the Holy One of God.'
It was humans who questioned His identity - and it still happens today.

It would take the resurrection for Jesus to prove His ultimate truth; turning a handful of men and women into the tools by which He would proclaim the Gospel of God.
From those original followers, they founded a movement which became the Church; whereby His mission has not stopped in nearly 20 centuries.

So, how to we have the impact, make the difference and show the world our Sovereign Lord?

Simple - Jesus had to be raised to Life to seal His truth in the disciples' minds. So must we.

In our lives, if you want people to see God through you, experience His grace through your life, and seek Him in all things - you are going to have to go through a Resurrection yourself.
You and I must die at the foot of the Cross and allow Him to raise us to His newness of life.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.