Will the real Jesus please stand up?

I'm fascinated by the analogies people use to describe Jesus Christ. Do you have ideas of your own? What do you think of these? I'm Les Nixon, and this is LifeQues.

Some people include God in their conversation but complain, "Don't bring Jesus into it. It will spoil religion altogether!" Others say that Jesus and religion are 'personal'. And, "we just don't talk about those things". Maybe he's too highly respected to include His Name in their conversation.

Others will simply use Jesus name as profanity, and hardly notice what they've said, and then flatly deny they meant anything profane by it at all. Then there's the people who include Jesus in every part of their lives; decision making, family, business and Church. Jesus is very personal to them.They seem to revere His name enormously.

You see, the same things mean different things to different people. David Millikan in his book, The Sunburnt Soul, said that Jesus Christ would drink with his mates at the pub. But the outback Australian thinks differently. He usually dislikes religion passionately, wonders at ritual and Church form, and says that Jesus is disinterested in his life, his problems, his family and recreation—and his work. He's too distant to be involved, they say, except as a judge.

"It's tough in the outback, and if you're not tough, you'll not survive," they say. Yet, the innocent child outback treats Jesus as a friend, and they survive and grow.

Did you hear of the mother who asked her daughter, "Aren't you embarrassed to think that Jesus sees everything you do?" The lass replied, "Oh, no. He loves me so much he can't take his eyes off me!"

Then, others see Jesus in the context of their work and livelihood. A Christian TV repairman might say: "My life's horizontal started focusing when Jesus Christ introduced me to vertical fine tuning." Or the motor mechanic who could say that Jesus and the Bible are his best shock-absorbers.

Or the environmentalist could put it this way,"When I nominated Jesus as my Supreme Ecologist, years of inner pollution became instantly bio-degradable."

Or the entertainer, after accepting Jesus into his life could say: "I was a sour note on Adam's reed when the Master Musician re-orchestrated my life and gave me and the angels something good to sing about". Jesus is the most talked about person in history.

Napoleon is said to have remarked; "If Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great were to walk into this room, we would stand and applaud. If Jesus Christ came here, we would kneel and worship."

Yet, during a news conference, Australia's former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, reacted to an exploding TV light bulb with instant fear. It sounded like a gun shot. He jumped, turned and swore, "Oh, Jesus!"

But when we read in Isaiah that "His Name shall be called Wonderful," that's the Jesus most people prefer to remember. Stradivarius of Cremona, the famed violin maker, marked every instrument he made with the name of Jesus—the "name that is above every name." Was that why they became so famous, and why they've outlasted other violins?

So, when I hear someone take the name of Jesus in blasphemy and ridicule, I wonder if they really know whom they're talking about? God called Jesus his special Son and said that Jesus was the Saviour of the world. Regardless of what other people may say of Him, He is alive today, and living in the hearts and homes of millions of His own people, meeting their needs constantly, and wanting to complete His role as Saviour and friend to all who ask him.

At Bethlehem, wise men came to see Jesus. And wise men still do!

Remember: 'Don't back out on the outback!'

Opportunity down under Go to our opportunity down under page.

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