Jesus

This morning I watched a powerful yet simple message on the GEB network. Dr. Rutland, the former president of Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL where Isaac and I both graduated, is now president of Oral Roberts University located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And as such, he preaches during the chapel services there just like he did at Southeastern. Except now, they are recorded and played back on television for anyone to view. What a hidden treasure we found!

I miss Southeastern so much and watching his messages brings back so many memories. The sheer tones of his voice spark  memories of Isaac and I sitting in chapel listening to him preach one soul-soaking message after another. He is a gifted man, one of whom I know not many of, who can relate-ably strike the heart of one’s suffering or joyful inner core through the simple avenue of his own life-changing stories.

Somewhere along the line, he said today, people have been turned off by “church.” They don’t want to talk or have anything to do with religion. They have been burned, scarred, and disillusioned at the thought of the institution that they put it on the backburner and leave it for the wolves. Rightly so. The “church” can be a scary place to live unfortunately.

What about Jesus, he said? He is the basic essence of all that is. Have you seen him? Perhaps that is the mindset we should have while living on this temporary earth. He is all that matters. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and His character, His being, is what we ought to focus on.

When you tell people about Jesus, about His transcendent glory, about the way He can heal and perform miracles and change the darkest parts of one’s soul to light in an instant, there is more than just the “church” to talk about. In fact, that has little to do with the church. Jesus, in all His glory, is all we need. Worshipping is not about how we feel or the “chills and spills” of our bones, it’s about glorifying Him and focusing our eyes and thoughts on His magnificent being.

There is nothing like Him. And dare we put Him in the middle of our messy lives thinking we have made a spot for Him. He is above our messy life. If we asked Him to come sit in the spot we thought we so brilliantly prepared for Him, would He not come waltzing in and say, like he does in Matthew 17:

“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.”

Just like Peter did with Moses and Elijah, so often we try to put Jesus on the same wavelength as our problems, our pains, our fears, our trials, our miserable little senseless, struggling, beat-over-the-head, traffic-induced, making-ends-meet lives that we forget that not only does He deserve, but He belongs at the top of it all. He is above all those things. He is all those things. 

How dare we think we are doing good by making a place for Him. He is higher than the places we think we have under control and try to squeeze Him into. His countenance, His face, His love is brighter and greater than we could ever imagine. And I believe that if we fix our eyes on Him, on His character, on His glory, we might surprise ourselves and realize that the church is really just senseless talk.

It’s all about Him.