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Five Jesuses

December 4th, 2007 spiritual

A statement of faith from five different perspectives:

Option 1: Jesus who? Like 99% of the planet, of course I’ve heard of this person, but without a wikipedia search, I couldn’t give many details. I think he said “judge not, lest ye be judged” and other statements using the word “ye”, but as far as I’m concerned he’s just another name on the ancient pantheon of religious figures who are now moot in our age of technology. He’s in my myth-busted category along with the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, Sasquatch, and Saddam’s WMD’s.

Option 2: Jesus is cool. He’s my homeboy. He’s just alright with me. He’s sugar, spice, and everything nice in a well-trimmed beard and classy robe. When I think upon his cheery disposition it makes me smile. He is the ultimate superhero. He is all time most popular “person you’d most want to be stuck on a deserted island with”. He’s cooler than Elvis in sequins and shades, cooler than William Wallace with lightening bolts and thunder.

Option 3: Jesus is the way. After reading most of the world’s philosophies and religions, this one stands out among the crowd. “Treat people the way you’d like to be treated”, “turn the other cheek”, “serve the poor”, man, if people would just go the Jesus way, this world would be utopia. This is the most ideal human who has ever lived. MLK was on to something good.

Option 4: Jesus is Lord. So not only was Jesus the ideal human, he was killed for equating himself with the Creator of the Universe, offering to forgive sin, and not refusing to be worshipped for it. As cool and as good as any man is, he’d also be the most arrogant and self-righteous person of all time—unless he actually is God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God-with-us, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. After he was dead for three days, he came alive again in the ultimate display of his supernatural power. He isn’t just a cool guy, he’s the Master of the Universe.

Option 5: Jesus is my Lord. Of all the statements that can be made about him, this is the hardest yet most pivotal one. According to the man himself, if you can’t say this, the other statements are as deep as Facebook wall posts. (Now, rather than a hypothetical person, this is me speaking.) On most days, I am likely to be making one of the above statements of faith—yes, the first one too, either consciously or unconsciously. Each day I allow my doubt to lower his esteemed position, yet he remains constant, waiting for me to answer the question freshly: “Today, David, who do you say that I am?” I must daily renew my pledge of allegiance. Neither a pledge of affiliation nor a pledge of admiration will do.