Picture Jesus

Hello All,

What’s your “perfect dream job”? That thing you know you’d be good at but also have a lot of fun doing. In another life I think I could’ve been a pretty descent Marketing Rep – specifically, in Advertising. We can all picture ourselves in a job where our potential would be maximized. If you’re anything like me, it’s funny, ‘cause when watching TV and seeing people doing your dream job, you can’t help but imagine what you would do, or you give a nod of approval when someone does it well. Maybe you’ve seen the Corona commercials where every situation that involves a Corona, automatically is considered “a beach”. I think that’s clever, and on another level, very thought provoking.

Let’s take that concept and make it spiritual: Whatever thing is closest to your heart, that’s your “Jesus”. You immediately get it right? So many people have SO many different Jesus’; for some, it’s their job, for some it’s their family, for some, it’s their hopes for the future that they’re feverishly working towards now…the list is endless. I imagine that for believers, we all believe that Jesus is the closest to our hearts. But is He really? Is The True Jesus, the Jesus of your heart? Is He the closest thing to it? It’s too easy to answer and say “Yes” but I believe I can also say confidently, that Jesus isn’t fooled. He knows exactly where He is among your list of things that occupy your affections.

Here’s The Word;

Luke 14: 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

I understand we’re all growing and are at different levels all that; but in all seriousness, I think basically He’s saying that if you’ve picked a different Jesus, then you’re probably not where you think you are. None of us will ever reach perfection here, but is your heart in such pursuit of Him, that it’s your primary concern?

The sad thing about our culture is that we make allowances for other things to be our Jesus. If your married ,courting, dating or just interested in someone, it’s not uncommon to hear “They’re the answer to all my prayers” – You’re less likely to hear someone chime in and say “you’ve got quite a catch, just make sure you keep Jesus, your Jesus”. Even in marriage, we have this thing we say – Your family is your first ministry. And trust me, I get it; we hope we’re saying that priority be that their house be spiritually lead before they start trying to tackle a bunch of other extra-curricular activities (ministerially speaking). However, we also assume an obviousness to these situations without regard for how easily our vision can be distorted. If you’ve got a job making good money, that’s a blessing right? It IS a blessing but it should not be as close to your heart as Jesus. Even working in ministry, the position begins to take center stage. This is terribly dangerous because it starts so innocently and usually from proper motives.

Well, I think I’ve made the point. This is not about condemnation; it’s about encouragement to take a long look at your heart. Write down a list of things that are important to you and then look at where you spend a typical 24 hour period – even look at a full week. We may wholeheartedly say that we love Jesus with all of our hearts but you’re the time you spend may paint a different picture…it’ll also help you see who you picked for your Jesus. Picture Jesus when you pick your Jesus.

In Him, Cros