“I believe in God, but not religion.” This type of comment makes me think that our religious services aren’t offering God in a way that people can sit down at the spiritual table and feast. It means that God isn’t being presented, well, as God.
Let’s be honest. We like to wrap God up in all kinds of boxes. We want to make him neat and tidy, safe and secure. We’ve all heard the stale little feel-good phrases like: “God never closes a door without opening a window” or “God only helps those who help themselves,” neither of which is in the Bible.
The world today doesn’t need a bunch of God-talk; we need God to talk. And if it’s messy, it’s messy. If it’s hard, it’s hard. If it doesn’t fit into three points and a poem and doesn’t end in a way that makes the rest of the day comfortable, so be it. If it flies in the face of culture, religion, and politics, let it rip. We may not understand it all, but that’s okay. We may not even like it all, but at least we’ll know.
RAW & UNFILTERED
More than ever, people desperately need to connect with God as he truly is—raw and unfiltered. People need a God that can be seen, felt, and experienced in their daily lives. They don’t need Jesus all dressed up in spiritual buzz-talk, trite phrases, and religious clichés. The only way people can experience authentic life change is to offer them Jesus uncensored, which is a far cry from the stained-glass window depictions many of us have grown up with.
Jesus is the complete revelation of God. He reveals the nature and personality of God. In Christ, we discover that God is not an “it” or a cosmic force, as seen in Star Wars. He is a person with a personality.
If someone were to ask you to tell them about Jesus, how would you answer? How would you describe him? What is he like? If someone asked me, “Brian, tell me about your brother?” I’d be able to describe him from personal knowledge; I know what he’s like.
We could all provide firsthand information about our family and friends, their personalities, preferences, likes, and dislikes. What about Jesus? What is he really like? I’m not talking about spouting off religious clichés like: “God is good!” We all know God is good. I’m asking you to think more deeply about Jesus’ personality.
GETTING TO KNOW HIM
We’ve heard it said that if you want to know someone, you should pay attention to what they say and do. In other words, we can understand something about a person by their deeds and actions. We’ve also been told that we become like the company we keep. We’ve heard the old saying, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.”
Let’s apply that logic to Jesus. He was known for breaking the law. He was accused of keeping bad company to the point that he garnered the reputation of being the devil himself. He was called a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners. He hung out with people with less-than-stellar reputations. So, what does this say about his personality?
For some, Jesus was so compelling that they chose to follow him even if it cost them their lives. For others, he was so dangerous that they felt they needed to kill him. On the one hand, he was known for being generous and compassionate. On the other hand, he was known for being disruptive and rebellious. For millions, Jesus is at the center of their affection. For millions more, he is despised even to this day.
JESUS’ PERSONALITY
Getting to know his personality means understanding him as fully human. Our view of his divinity often overrides his designation of himself as the “Son of Man.” When we downplay his humanity, we miss the beauty of his personality. Have you considered his personality traits? He was overwhelmingly gracious and brutally truthful. His generosity was scandalous. His righteous anger made people tremble. And his sense of humor is misunderstood to this day.
In years past, my use of social media has gotten me into trouble. The reason is simple: body language, voice inflection, and facial expressions don’t translate in online conversations. It’s like trying to develop relationships in a vacuum. In real life, even in serious discussions, I often engage playfully. However, on social media, that doesn’t come through. This is the same vacuum many bring to the Gospels. When we read the Bible without considering Jesus’ personality, his tone of voice, facial expressions, etcetera, we misinterpret much of what we read.
Matthew 15:22-28 offers a great example. In this passage, a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus seeking help for her demon-possessed daughter. In this interaction, Jesus refers to the woman as a dog. This passage causes many people to squirm. Others walk away thinking that Jesus was stern, with the idea that to be like him, we need to be firmer. I could tell you stories of a few congregations that have built an entire church culture around this sort of religious nonsense.
What if Jesus was being playful? That would certainly change things. In my day-to-day life, I often interact with people using playful banter. In preaching, humor is a great way to convey hard truths. What if Jesus had a smile on his face as he interacted with the Canaanite woman? What if he was using his conversation with her to dig at the religious leaders? It wouldn’t have been the first time he provoked the teachers of the law. That sounds a lot more like Jesus’ personality to me.
LIVING WITH AMAZEMENT
I love Matthew’s description of the people’s response to Jesus after the Sermon on the Mount: “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt. 7:28-29). People were amazed. He doesn’t say religious people; no, real ordinary people like you and me.
They were amazed, meaning they expected the same old pious song and dance. They thought they’d heard it all. They knew about Adam and Eve, Father Abraham, Moses and the Prophets, Oprah and Dr. Phil. But then came Jesus, and they were astonished, not just at what he said, but how he said it.
Are you amazed by Jesus? If not, you aren’t experiencing him as much more than words on a page. Reading the Bible without understanding the personality of Jesus is like watching a movie with the sound on mute. It lacks intimacy, which is the key. Everything else in life flows from our willingness to get to know Jesus personally.
We all know the enemy isn’t going to let that happen without a fight. Satan has a master’s degree in spinning the story. He deceives through revision, blurred lines, and distorted narratives. The devil has an uncanny knack for filtering God’s Word, censoring Jesus’ personality, and causing Christ-followers to get stuck in arrested development.
Remember, Jesus is the full revelation of God. He is the defining word on what the heart of God is truly like, what God is up to in the world, and what God wants to do in our lives, and the enemy works day and night to interfere. That is why a deep knowledge of who Jesus is must remain the number one pursuit of our lives.
Religion and culture often misrepresent Jesus, and millions fall for it. Following Christ isn’t simply about a life informed by certain truths. Nor is it only about a life conformed to religious rituals. The truth is, knowing about Jesus and knowing him personally are not the same thing. To know Jesus as he truly is is what it means to come home. And nothing compares to the life, joy, and peace this kind of relationship brings to our lives.
(Sources: James Emery White, Church & Culture; John Eldredge, Beautiful Outlaw)
Brian L Powell 