Pocket-Size Jesus: Does God Limit Himself?

What my Jesus is not:

My Jesus is not limited. 

If I were to trust in a God I thought had limits, I would eventually lose hope.

I would have created an expendable God.

My misperceptions about how and why he operates may limit him, but, ultimately, I have to trust that he is indeed limitless and eternal in order to say I truly believe in an omnipotent God.

My Jesus is not human.

Humans fail and disappoint.

Humans choose sin over God every day.

Though Jesus lived among us as man, He was still God. Had he become an error-prone human, he could not have been the sacrificial lamb that was given for our sins.

He was God in the flesh, but not a human.

My Jesus is not glossy or white. 

I watched the Easter production “The Thorn” a couple of weeks ago.  I enjoyed the production. It was quite spectacular, but…I couldn’t get past the image of a glossy, Anglo Jesus with perfectly tousled hair and gleaming teeth striding confidently around the stage.

I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have wanted to be in the spotlight during his time on earth.

It’s not that Jesus shouldn’t be in the spotlight, it’s just that glossy Jesus seemed too polished to me, like the prince charming out of a fairy tale.

Plus, I know from scripture Jesus wasn’t a tall, handsome white guy.  He was a Jew with, “no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2).

I think we change Jesus into our own image because we tend to fear what we do not know.

I’m not certain what he looked like then or how he looks now, but I’m certain he was not and is not an American super-star.

What my Jesus is:

My Jesus is limitless.

Jesus could have  commanded a thousand angels to take him from the cross, but he didn’t. In this way, we sometimes say he “limited himself”, but we  should not limit his power by worrying or attempting to represent him by our own limitations.

He was born humbly, but now presides over heaven and earth in full glory as King, so those who believe in him can also become heirs to the throne.

He is not a convenient or pocket-sized God we whip out like a business or loyalty card. He is powerful beyond our understanding, yet he gives us full access to his power through the Holy Spirit when we acknowledge his Lordship.

My Jesus is God.

None of the pain and strife of this present world makes sense without a God who, having given us free will to choose him or not, and knowing we would reject him, still loved us enough to save us from ourselves.

God sent Jesus, an aspect of himself so valuable he called him his Son, as redemption for our wickedness.

He did not choose a mere representative of man to be the sacrifice, because only God himself could take our place in recompense for our brokenness.

My Jesus is recognizable.

If I were to meet Jesus, just as his disciples did after the resurrection, I may not recognize him by his appearance.

I would most likely recognize him by his wise words, his humble actions and his extravagant love.

Love is diverse, but has no ethnicity.

Love is rich, but has no socioeconomic privilege.

I would look into his eyes to see the least of these and fall to my knees in recognition.

In many ways, those of us who believe have already met Jesus Christ, because we know of his limitless power and love.

Whether or not we know and believe that Jesus is in an omnipotent, loving savior who came to save us from ourselves is our prerogative, in accordance with our free will.

But scripture tells us that someday all nations  will recognize and acknowledge a child-turned-King named Jesus Emmanuel.

If how we see Jesus is at most a convenient, pocket-size moral privilege or guideline, and at least a lovely fairy tale, we have equally diminished him into a man-made image of no value or redemptive power.

This is my own personal depiction of Jesus based on what I know from scripture . What about you? How do you see Jesus? Do you think we limit Jesus, or that Jesus deliberately limits himself?