Who is Jesus?

WHEN: December 6th 2009
AUTHOR: bk
CATEGORY: Blog
SHARE THIS WITH FRIENDS:

Who is Jesus? For being such a central figure to our faith, we sure have a hard time answering this question.  We've named our faith in his honor (Christ-ianity), but if we were asked to describe him in simple terms, what would we say?

My mind immediately goes to the picture of Jesus hanging on my grandma's wall.  He's definitely a pretty man, and looks suspiciously like an American, with his blue eyes, shampooed brown hair, and perfectly trimmed beard.
Wait, Jesus was Middle Eastern.  That picture can't be right.  Jesus probably looked more like an Arab.

Where do I go next for answers?  My mind turns to the popular understanding of Jesus.  For the most part, this Jesus is a big softy.  He's a passive man wearing a white sheet for clothing and lets people bully him around.  He's weak.  There's a hymn with lyrics that describe him in this way: "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child."

Wait, Jesus went without food for 40 days.  Ouch.  Then he chose not to run away, but let an angry crowd crucify him, so that they would be saved.  Double ouch.  This doesn't sound like a weak man.

What next?  I start thinking about the stories about him in the Bible.  For the record, I'd like to be really honest about this: the Jesus in the Bible is terribly difficult to understand.  I have no idea what he's saying most of the time.  If the Bible is our best understanding of Jesus, it's no wonder that we have a hard time describing him.  He's cryptic, enigmatic, elusive, and other big words that just mean, "Wow, this guy is really tough to figure out." 

Is this really the best description I have of my God?  It makes me feel ashamed to know him so poorly.  I feel like a hypocrite, because I'm trying to model my life after a guy whom I barely know.  Who is Jesus?

But there is one thing....it's small, and might not mean much, but then again, it does give me hope. Let me explain. I have a friend in my life who's about 35 years older than me. He's a strong Christian man, full of integrity, devoted to his work and his family, and just an all around great man. He's a little over six feet tall, in good shape, and always wears a smile.

Is this a fair description of him? Well, yes, but it's also not enough. These are just facts about him. If I really want to tell you what kind of man he is, I need to tell you what he means to me. I need to tell you that this man changed my life.

Who is Jesus? There are a lot of things I don't understand about him, but I do know one thing: This man changed my life.