What Did Jesus Look Like?

I'm trying to remember how this conversation started....

Okay, it was raining yesterday and I was driving Griffin home from his tutor.

Griffin: "It's raining. It's like God is taking a shower."

Me: "That's funny! Where'd you here that from, Honey?"

Griffin: "It's in the Bible...it's a Bible verse."

Me: "Oh it is, huh? Hmmmm, I never heard that one. I'm glad you told me."

Then I started thinking about something we were talking about in our Sunday School Class. So I said....

Me: "So, you think God takes showers? What do you think, then, that God looks like?"

Griffin: "Oh, he has long hair. And he wears a blue...ummmm...."

Me: "Robe?"

Griffin: "Yeah, a robe. It's blue. And he wears black sandals. Oh, and his hair is brown. And he sits in a chair in Heaven."

Me: "Well, then, what do you think Jesus looks like?"

Griffin: "Oh, Jesus? Oh, well, he's got shorter hair. And he wears a red robe, and black sandals. And his hair is brown and he's peach."

Me: "Peach. You think Jesus is peach?"

Griffin: "Yeah. What do you think God and Jesus looks like?"

Me: "Well, I really have no idea what God looks like. None. But, Jesus. Well, we know that he was Middle Eastern. So, I would guess he was more brown than peach."

Griffin: "Huh. Well, I guess we'll find out when we go to Heaven. We'll meet 'em then! What do you think Heaven looks like?"

Me: "I think it is probably the most beautiful place we will have ever laid our eyes on."

Griffin: "Yeah. I think so too. And I think it is probably sparkly."

Me: "Me too! Definitely sparkly!"

And that was that. Almost made me flat out cry. Tears did well-up in my eyes. But I held them back. What an amazing child he is.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something I have really been thinking about lately is concepts. Because from concepts we then build beliefs. If my concept of the church is that it is filled with hypocrites then my belief might be that religion is not important....finding a church is not impactful to me. I don't need church in my life.

If I conceptualize Jesus as a man, then don't I forget that he was once a baby, a child, a teenager, a young adult, and THEN a man. I mean think about it....surely as a child growing up he would have gotten hurt both physically and emotionally. Surely he had sadness in his life for which he would have to come to grips with. Looking at his life from the awkwardness of youth, maybe he even had bad acne at one time, and lips his face had to grow into. Who knows! But he was a teenager and he was human! What a concept, huh?! Imperfection. Even God would have allowed for these things to occur. He would need to limit His role in the life of His son so that Jesus could have a fully human experience. Interesting concept, isn't it?

Now, when you pray, do you visualize a picture of God? Do you visualize a picture of Jesus? And if so, what do you picture them like? Speaking of just Jesus....what sort of Jesus do you envision? Is it Jesus the carpenter? Jesus the teacher ministering to his flock? Or Jesus in his death as he hangs from the cross?

I find it really funny that I have never thought of Jesus as a baby! At least not really. I have always visualized him in my prayers at the age of his death. As a man. This concept of Jesus as a baby reminded me of the movie Talladega Nights. The main character Ricky Bobby is over and over again praying to "Dear Lord Baby Jesus".......so funny! Cracked me up each time he did this!! At one point in the movie, there's a scene where someone at the dinner table says to him, "He was a man! He had a beard!" And Ricky Bobby says, "I like the baby version the best!"

But he was a baby! He was a toddler. He was a young child. Oh my gosh! He was totally human in every way! He grew in the same ways that we all do. He didn't just come out a baby and then in ten years become a man, freakishly dispalying the fact that he was maybe "not of this world". No, he grew in every way that we do. The only oddity of his birth was that his mother immaculately conceived him. But Joseph was no less his earthly teacher and father. And no less proud of Jesus in his every endeavor. Yet, I'm sure Joseph was also no less admonishing of him each time he did something "dangerous" or "without thinking" for Joseph was human too.

Jesus was not privileged, at least not in the way we typically use the word. No, he didn't grow up in wealth. He didn't grow up in a metropolis. He didn't grow up with the famous. He grew up, seemingly insignificantly. And, yet, He changed our world forever.

These realities have really helped me, lately. Knowing that when I see my role as insignificant, I am wrong. When I see the children within my reach as normal and regular, I am wrong. When I see the people I come into contact with as purposeless and without bearing on myself or my family or my world, I am wrong.

Jesus was an infant, a boy, and a man. Every experience he had in life, and every person he encountered in his upbringing molded him and brought him to his destiny. Oh how it must have felt to have been his neighbor. To see how he changed the world. And to be able to say, "I knew that man when he was just a boy!"

But the concept hasn't changed. We make an impact on everyone around us. From our peers, to the kids our kids interact with, to our co-workers.....everyone. And the concept that we are all creating a history not only for ourselves but for everyone we come in contact with, is wow, monumental! And it started with us when we were babies.

Conceptualize with me this world: every person around me has value and is worthy of Me at my best. Not to say you are not allowed to have moods other than happiness. But, what if.....what if you decided that just as Jesus wasn't always a man, neither were we. If you have wrongs that were done to you in your past....make peace with them. If there are people in your life who are hurting you with their words or actions, while you hide behind "acceptance", get honest with them.

Conceptualize one last thing......You are at peace. The people who have wronged you have been forgiven, and don't forget forgiveness does not mean you condone their actions. The hurting that others continue doing to you has been brought to them. And their decision to either correct or continue behaviors has either kept them in your life or has cut them out of your life, but you are at peace.

If I conceptualize a world where my mark IS a lasting one then all of a sudden I understand relationships and their value. I understand healing. I understand forgiveness. I understand the need for the community of church in my life and I feel happiness. The question is, are you deserving of that concept?