Jesus....Away from the Stained Glass

Most of our ideology of and even our mental imagery of Jesus, the Messiah, comes from renderings of artist. They usually paint or draw or place into stained glass Christ as some soft, halo wearing, long-haired softy that looks anything but a person who could relate to me or you. Add to that the written attacks on Jesus by infidels who have portrayed Him as a homosexual and other devious and damnable things.

Having traveled many places in the world, I have seen the portrayal of Jesus around the world. Even in the places they attempt to show Jesus with reverence, to me, they miss it badly. Now I have not seen Jesus and I am sure my opinion of HIm is shaped by the various inputs I have had into my imagery.

However, consider that Jesus grew up in the home of boys. His dad was a carpenter. Carpenters work hard. Their hands are often rough from handling the wood and working with tools necessary for plying their trade. Jesus was comfortable among some of the toughest guys in the land. He called fishermen to accompany Him in reaching the world. Jesus was a real man...sun tanned, calloused hands, able to look the meanest soldiers in the face with blood dripping from His own.

Let me tell you about some of the folks I relate to as well. I have some friends that are cattlemen, ranchers, and generally rough people. One old fellow in particular comes to mind. He drives an old truck, raises goats, cattle and even a donkey or two. He is uneducated and can be spotted wearing an dilapidated old cowboy hat. His hands are gnarled from years of hard work and...He is a Christian. This man loves the Lord deeply. But guess what? He does not relate to the paintings in Cistine Chapel. He has no comprehension of a soft Saviour. In the words of this friend when talking about the Lord he says, painfully, "They whooped Him!" Not whipped...whooped. Recently he was speaking of Jesus and the kind of man He was. I think he captured it better than the elite artists of the world when he said of the Christ, "He's a Hoss!"

I love it! It is the kind of Christ I relate to. When we see Jesus again, rest assured He will not be a soft pushover, but He will return as King of Kings and men...all men will fear and tremble at His appearance.