"Where is Jesus now?" Atheists ask this derisively, agnostics rehetorically, seekers wistfully, Christians hopefully.
Don Miller spent Friday evening asking and answering the question with some of our church's leaders, and he ended up talking about setting people up on blind dates with Jesus.
Where is Jesus now? The Bible gives these very clear answers (the rest of this post is a paraphrase of a few of Don's words):
Colossians 1:27 "God has chosen to make known among the (peoples) the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Soooo, if you've responded to him in faith, Jesus is in you, Christian.
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." There it is again, for those who live by faith in Jesus, he lives in you, in me.
If you are a Christian, everyday when you get out of bed and your feet hit the floor, merry Christmas to the world!
When we look for HOPE in the world, its unbliblical to look external to me. When people are looking for hope, when people maybe even are looking for divine hope in Jesus without even knowing his name...sure I can bring them to church, but I should bring Jesus to them, in me. When I bring myself, all of me to people in relationship, I bring Jesus. Being real with people looking for hope, specifically living a life of confession ('I ain't perfect') helps people understand the difference between Jesus and me.
If 'Christ is in me,' then why does popular American culture not 'see Jesus' more often and clearly?
One reason is because Jesus doesn't look like the picture of contemporary popular evangelical culture (holding up pictures of success, beauty, and 'you can have your best life now'). Isaiah 53 tells us Jesus actually had 'no beauty, was despised' and suffering marked his earthly journey. That's why the people not getting any false redemption on earth (from ephemeral success) are often the most attracted to Jesus, when they see the real Jesus. Inviting people to encounter the Jesus 'in you' does not promise 'your best life now,' but does promise that you can be engaged to the Trinity/God in this life, this life will be really hard, and your hope is found in eternity.
Don said that because of the above biblical truth, and people's hunger for Jesus (even without knowing his name), he no longer sees evangelism as sharing information. Instead, he says, "I set people up on a blind date with Jesus." -to be continued-
Comments