Jesus...

about a month ago I had a thought about Jesus that I wrote down somewhere and I haven't had the chance to write it out in the blog until now. the thought was...

"Jesus didn't come to have huge statues built of him....or for that matter to have pictures of what people thought he looked like posted of him posing in one way or another."

we were going through the outskirts of Lima when I saw a huge statue of Jesus in the distance. that is where the thought began.

in Paul's letter to the Philippians he writes that Jesus humbled himself completely, that while he was God he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. he did not come for power, or to show his ability being God but for something else...to serve and share the Truth, to share hope, faith, and love. this was revealed throughout his life serving and teaching and when he humbled himself to death.

pictures of Jesus are everywhere in Lima. they're in taxis, on random walls, and in shops and restaurants sometimes with the opposite wall posted with a picture of a half naked woman. (and I ask the question "why is he there? is there any real significance except to have a picture of him on the wall? is he just good luck?")

Jesus came to proclaim a message. he came to begin a kingdom where people love each other, even their enemies, where difference is welcome, where personal gain is placed behind encouraging and serving each other.

He came that people might know who Created them and that they might draw closer to Him and become one community driven by His great love and compassion.

Jesus is not a poster-boy. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

is Jesus sitting on the wall, some picture, or do we allow his message to become a real part of our lives?

what is important is what is in our hearts, not what is on the wall.