What kind of Jesus do you serve?

What kind of person do you think Jesus is?  Is He a mild-mannered rather effeminate sort of fellow?  Does he walk around in your mind mumbling mindless platitudes?  Does He have a soft beard, long flowing brown hair with a look on his face that makes you think He’s had a lobotomy.  These are the images of Jesus that I grew up with.

The Jesus I serve is nothing like that.  He is alive!  He is a person!  When He was here on earth He probably worked with wood.  He had strong hands and arms and undoubtedly sweat a lot.  There’s no way you can work wood with hand tools without working up a sweat.  He got dirty and tired and had to sleep just like us.

He also displayed emotion.  While here on earth He got angry and frustrated at times.  He had a good sense of humor and knew how to enjoy a good party.  Unlike us, these displays of emotion occurred without sinning.

So I’m going to change the way I pray.  I’m going to stop conjuring up the old image of Jesus with my eyes closed.  I’m going to start talking to Him just like I talk to a friend or another member of my family – like He’s really there listening.  Maybe I’ll be able to start breaking away from all the funny prayer clichés and phrases.  And maybe I’ll be able to stop using “prayer punctuation”.