The Jesus I Never Knew

first, i appologize...i don't know that there is really anyone out there still reading this or checking it, but if there is, i appologize because it has been nearly forever since i last wrote. and i guess maybe, even if there is no one reading this, i still need to appologize to myself, because there is something implicitly good that comes for me in writing here...something good in my head and my spirit...a processing if you will...

so...that said...i started back into reading The Jesus I Never Knew...i am reading it partially for myself, as is always the case when i read or study...but also seeking to put together teaching thoughts...and as i read, i am also going to write...write here, in this place...

so...here is a thought from chapter one...

what is your image of Jesus? i mean, what does he look like, but also, how does he act, what type of person is he, to you personally. how do you interact with him, if you see yourself interacting with him at all. what are his tendencies and typical emotions? is he emotional at all?

and these things that you think...the images that you have of Jesus...where do they come from? what has shaped them? do they come from scripture? from your thoughts? from pieces of the life around you? how has the culture around you developed these thoughts? mislead you in these thoughts?

is our image of Jesus tamed? trimmed around the edges? do we have even a shadow of an understanding of just how world changing Jesus was...and is?

here is an absolutely amazing quote by Walter Wink, "If Jesus had never lived, we would never have been able to invent him."...ponder that for a little while...