May 21, 2009

“This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their religious standing. Colossians. 1:26-27

What does Jesus look like inside of me? (1)

 On the outside he was viewed as “scrawny .. scrubby .. nothing to cause us to take a second look”. He was the last guy picked to play any team game .. not someone you ever thought would really achieve or be anybody. He knew pain .. firsthand  .. intimately. Who would want That living inside of them? But He had to look like that or you wouldn’t approach Him. Do you really want to pour out your heart to someone who looks like they have it all together. If they do .. do they really have time for you and your mess?  He does. He has all the time needed to love you into wholeness. But what if He finds my stuff? You know .. the stuff I’ve hidden in there .. the complete archival history of my life. He’s going to see the wounds .. scars .. lies .. secrets .. longings .. dreams .. all the unfinished stuff. He looks like the Kind where everyone who comes to Him finds all the space they ever needed to be made whole and finds all the time they ever needed to heal and grow into their full selves. He is both the One nobody would give a second look and the One who turns nobodies in somebodies and turns the rejected into the accepted. That is who He is and that is Who lives in you. So .. your life doesn’t become a walking soundboard of formulas or self-effort mini-miracles. You just carry around inside of you a very simple ..  easy mocked .. roundly rejected .. forever blamed .. Person … Jesus .. No more .. no less. That’s what He looks like. It only takes a moment …  

The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple.”   Colossians 1:27

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F  to Christ Followers (ken@priorityone.org)