1/30/2023

Why do so many people talk about Jesus but not read the Bible?  It’s a question put forth by Shane Pruitt.

He says that we’ve all heard people say things like:  “I love Jesus, but I don’t like the Bible.  I have a deep respect for Jesus, but I don’t agree with the Bible.”

Is the main reason we don’t have an issue with Jesus because it’s a Jesus that we’ve created by our own imagination?  We shape and mold Jesus to be what we want Him to be, but the very moment that Jesus no longer appeases us, we create a different Jesus more to our liking.  When we do this, we are not worshipping the Jesus of the Bible, but a “Jesus” that we’ve created in our minds.

The Jesus of the Bible will regularly disrupt our lives, call us to difficult things, stand in opposition to our personal preferences.  He often does the opposite of what we think he should.

Let’s be honest.  His demand to deny ourselves and His commandment to love others can get pretty annoying in our pursuit of happiness.

The Jesus of the Bible challenges our indulgences.  He contests the egoistic fine art of “looking out for No. 1.”  So, our inclination is to shape Jesus into something more palatable to our personal opinion and preferences.

We want Him to be created in our image.  We want to be in control.  We want to shape and mold our god to care about what we care about.  We want Him to be passionate about what we’re passionate about.  We want Him to be angry about what we’re angry about.  We think He should tolerate what we tolerate.

If this idea of Jesus is what comes to mind when we worship, pray, give, serve, live—ultimately that is idolatry.  It is the worship of a created idol—a misrepresentation of the God of the Bible—one to whom we’ve simply attached the name “Jesus.”

If we truly love the Jesus of the Bible, then we’ll also love the Bible that tells us about Him.  An accurate view of Him is necessary to authentic worship.  Let’s dive into Scripture to discover who Jesus is so we’ll view things the way he views things.  We’ll live how He lives.

Faith in the real Jesus will absolutely change who we are.  Are we ready for that?

-Michael