I spent some time at the start of the New Year praying and pondering who Jesus is and who He is not. As I prayed and wrote, I became overwhelmed by how radically different Jesus is from any other leader who has ever lived.
Fully God. Fully human. Jesus lived a completely genuine life. While living sin-free, He freely gave up His life for our sake on the cross. And He rose from the dead without seeking revenge.
Jesus did not abuse the vulnerable. He did not lie to survive, cheat to win, or steal to promote Himself. He did not manipulate crowds, coerce loyalty, or terrorize enemies. He did not raise up an army and He did not incite violence. He had no political sponsors and no machinery of earthly power behind Him. He did not court the rich, flatter the influential, or accumulate wealth to protect His future.
Instead, Jesus took the lowest place. He knelt. He washed feet. He touched the unclean. He ate with outcasts. He crossed boundaries others worked hard to defend, religious, ethnic, and social. He honored women. He welcomed children. He demanded the protection of their dignity and their lives.
How radically different!
Many turn to movements and ideologies to tell them who they are, who they must fear, and who they must oppose. Intensity is mistaken for truth and outrage becomes moral currency. People become tools in cultural warfare.
Jesus does not form identity by turning people into enemies. His battle is not against flesh and blood, and His Kingdom is not built by defending tribes but by transforming hearts. Jesus will not be reduced to a symbol, deployed as a slogan, or enrolled into our campaigns.
Jesus is the Way. Jesus is the Truth. Jesus is the Life.
He stands before us not as an idea to agree with, but as a person to follow. Not as an identity to perform, but as a life to receive. To follow Him is to be freed and loved.
I think this is why Jesus still unsettles so many. He cannot be captured by our movements. He will not be weaponized for our causes. He remains stubbornly, mercifully, real and holy.
Jesus captivates me and consumes me. To see Jesus leaves me with only one response: My soul, my life, my all.
Peace,
Nick
art: “Jesus the Liberator,” 1973, by Willis Wheatley
Fully God. Fully human. Jesus lived a completely genuine life. While living sin-free, He freely gave up His life for our sake on the cross. And He rose from the dead without seeking revenge.
Jesus did not abuse the vulnerable. He did not lie to survive, cheat to win, or steal to promote Himself. He did not manipulate crowds, coerce loyalty, or terrorize enemies. He did not raise up an army and He did not incite violence. He had no political sponsors and no machinery of earthly power behind Him. He did not court the rich, flatter the influential, or accumulate wealth to protect His future.
Instead, Jesus took the lowest place. He knelt. He washed feet. He touched the unclean. He ate with outcasts. He crossed boundaries others worked hard to defend, religious, ethnic, and social. He honored women. He welcomed children. He demanded the protection of their dignity and their lives.
How radically different!
Many turn to movements and ideologies to tell them who they are, who they must fear, and who they must oppose. Intensity is mistaken for truth and outrage becomes moral currency. People become tools in cultural warfare.
Jesus does not form identity by turning people into enemies. His battle is not against flesh and blood, and His Kingdom is not built by defending tribes but by transforming hearts. Jesus will not be reduced to a symbol, deployed as a slogan, or enrolled into our campaigns.
Jesus is the Way. Jesus is the Truth. Jesus is the Life.
He stands before us not as an idea to agree with, but as a person to follow. Not as an identity to perform, but as a life to receive. To follow Him is to be freed and loved.
I think this is why Jesus still unsettles so many. He cannot be captured by our movements. He will not be weaponized for our causes. He remains stubbornly, mercifully, real and holy.
Jesus captivates me and consumes me. To see Jesus leaves me with only one response: My soul, my life, my all.
Peace,
Nick
art: “Jesus the Liberator,” 1973, by Willis Wheatley