Pictures of Jesus

November 25, 2006 - Saturday

Category: Religion and Philosophy

Yesterday, I got this idea to find a bunch of pictures of Jesus on the internet and compare them. It was fascinating to see how the same Person was portrayed in so many different ways. Each picture portrayed Jesus the way the artist saw Him: gentle, meek, weak, feminine, bored, serious, passive, haunting, victorious, kind, compassionate, strong, rugged, intense...There was a message within each picture. So that gave me a couple questions. How do we get our picture of Jesus? How do we know if it's accurate or not? How can we pass on an accurate picture of Jesus if we haven't seen one for ourselves?

We get our first picture of God through our parents, teachers, pastors--spiritual and social leaders in our lives. They are the first to paint a picture for us of what God is like. Is He tender, loving, and patient? Is He harsh, demanding, and unpredictable? Even with positive role models, we soon discover that people can let us down. They're not always what they seem. It's not as easy to trust them anymore. These first pictures of Jesus that we receive from those closest to us make the deepest impression that may take years to fully understand and appreciate or overcome.

But how do we know if this picture we have of Jesus is accurate? How do we know what is real and what is distorted? Without sounding trite, I think I've come to realize that the only place we can get a completely accurate picture of Jesus is in the Bible. It seems obvious, but can get unintentionally overlooked. We assume we know who Jesus is, because we already have a picture of Him, and whether we like it or not, we figure that it must be true. But we might need to take a second look. Put it next to the standard and find out how accurate it really is. What kind of Jesus is there? Jesus: the day-laborer. Jesus: tempted and alone. Jesus: helping and healing social outcasts, shamelessly hanging out with spiritual outcasts. Jesus: preaching to crowds, praying alone, laughing with kids, sailing with friends. Jesus: stepping over stormy waves, standing up to demons, awaking a dead girl, freeing heavy hearts from guilt and shame. Jesus: abused, dying. Jesus: alive again, bold and strong, ready to burst through the clouds to rescue His children. These are just some snapshots of a Biblical picture of Jesus. Check it out for yourself.

But would we really recognize Jesus in action in our world now? Or would we miss Him if He didn't match up to the picture we already have?

Taking it one step further, if people often get their first pictures of Jesus through other people, what kind of picture are we giving to others? As the saying goes, we are the only picture of Jesus some people will ever see. If we are concerned for His reputation, we should be careful what kind of Jesus people see through us. The exciting thing though, is that instead of it being another guilt trip of how we need to be better and act nicer and be more patient, we are actually inspired when we see who Jesus really is. When we understand that He reaches us where we are, forgives us, sticks with us when we mess it all up--it naturally flows that we want to share that with others. We can't hold it back, because there are so many distorted pictures of Jesus, and it's not the Jesus we know.

I'm not an evangelist or preacher or even a very outgoing person. But I have this one passion deep in my heart that seems to keep growing--to share an accurate picture of Jesus with everyone I am around--especially those who are struggling with a distorted picture. This may not be in an obvious way--it might be a smile, or a simple conversation about life. I don't even know how exactly, but I know God will show me as I just start painting.