“The 12 Days of Jesus” are meant to deconstruct our traditional views of him – to put us on a path toward the freedom to see Jesus not as tradition teaches he should be, but as scripture says he really is.
The 12 Days of Jesus
Once our faith in God is strong, it becomes easy to overcome the temptation to be cynical in human relationships.
We need to learn what we need to do to become a calming rather than contentious influence, so that the John 17:20-23 prayer of Jesus’ can become a reality in our lives.
One of the most distinctive qualities of Jesus’s teaching is his ability to bring clarity out of complexity.
The next time you feel like you are foolish and don’t understand something, remember Jesus, like God, is patient and will work you through things until they are clear. He will comfort you along the way, easing your anxiety and bringing clarity to the complexity.
Jesus was sent by God to be the chief persuader. He was on a mission to convince, and in John 11:32-44 he is faced with grief, one of the most traumatic afflictions of faith any human being can experience. The sisters of Lazarus had watched their brother die when Jesus failed to arrive, and were plunged into deep grief accompanied by doubt. This grieving doubt had an emotional effect on Jesus as Scripture says he was “deeply moved” (John 11:33,38).
Jesus and anyone who chooses to live like him will be controversial, and that isn’t a negative thing. Unless we decide to live in a society where everyone believes and thinks the same thing controversies will abound.
Jesus was cagey and colorful all the time. We seriously need to evaluate how we see Jesus!
When an individual can “hold the attention of someone by being extremely interesting, exciting, charming, or attractive,” then that person is captivating. This brings us to a question. How captivating was Jesus?
Jesus’s confidence was in God, so when people were fickle he remained faithful, which is why I think so many people found him attractive. We must read the scriptures with greater intensity to learn this confidence, so we continue to keep the dream of Jesus alive and build his kingdom, regardless of whether we are many or few, important or irrelevant, succeeding or failing, being criticized or praised.
Redefining our view of Jesus should include not only identifying compassion in his life, but exhibiting compassion in our own.
How different might you or your church be if courage was taught, encouraged, and expected from everyone in every area of their lives?