Andy Flannagan - The Jesus I Know

|PIC1|Unfortunately the Jesus I know is still smaller than the Jesus I don't yet know.

I was on holiday on the north coast of Northern Ireland. It is probably one of my favourite parts of the whole world, but my ability to fully appreciate its crashing waves and jutting headlands was seriously diminished by the fact that on the day before arriving, about £500 had been stolen from my CD stall at a concert. On the day afterwards I don't think it would have made much difference to me whether I was in the slums of Bangladesh or the hanging gardens of Babylon, as the greens were greyed, the sounds were muted and the clouds were darkened.

Nothing about my state of mind changed the reality of what lay before me. The beaches had not shortened, the cliffs had not shrunk, and the sea had not become suddenly polluted. What had changed was my ability to appreciate the reality before me without prejudice. The same applies to our ability to come before the reality of who Jesus is.

Yes, we must bring all our frustrations and dilemmas to Him, but if we are always preoccupied, as we tend to be, are we truly experiencing Him as He really is, or a version tainted by our current foibles and mindset? We may miss something of His beauty that is there to be seen. With our current agenda firmly in the forefront of our minds it is very easy for self-interest to manipulate our image of his character onto the true picture of God.

This is how I know that there is still so much more to know of this Jesus. My pre-occupation with my agenda leaves just enough space to remember "What Would Jesus Do?" in any given situation, but leaves absolutely no room to see or ask the more important question - "What is Jesus doing?"

When I speak to my peers, I realise that this is not just a problem for me. We think "Jesus thoughts", when we pray about the future and when we say thanks for the past, but we have practically no awareness of Jesus in the "now". How can we truly be his co-workers, when we only spot what he has been up to a day or so later, after the dust settles.

Right now, ask yourself the question - what is Jesus doing in my life, in this situation, in this town, or in this family right now? Because I can assure you of one thing. He is always doing something. The question is whether or not our preoccupied minds leave us the space to see it.

When I wake up, I am already thinking through my "to-do list" for the day. That is reality. That is "sorting things" and calling people, and having meetings. The problem is that often this is my only reality. The great French philosopher Descartes said "I think, therefore I am". In other words, we know that we are real because we can feel ourselves thinking. I am sure that one of the main reasons that as a society we seem to care little for anyone other than ourselves is that to us, everyone else is genuinely less real, as we simply cannot "hear" their thinking. Can you hear Jesus "thinking"? Is there space in your head to be filled with thoughts other than your own? Is he slightly less real than "reality"?

My closest friends are those with whom I don't have to organise an "event" to have a good time. No excuse is required to be in their company. I can be with them and just "be". In these times, I truly begin to know them, as I am investing my brain not in a flurry of activity, but in looking and listening. With these folks, I begin to be able to anticipate their bodily reaction to a surprise, the tone their voice will take in response to provocation, or what will make them laugh. My desire is that I will begin to know my Jesus in the same way. That as with the prophets, I will not only know of his actions and reactions in history, but how he is thinking, acting and reacting right now.

I think Jesus wants to speak into more situations in our world than we suspect. I think he has an opinion on pretty much everything that we get involved in. A good example of our tunnel vision is in the area of politics. I remember receiving an email from a friend in the USA. It said a very interesting thing. It said, "Yes, I agree that Bush's foreign policy is questionable, but I still prefer him to Kerry on moral issues." When did Jesus and morality become separate from foreign policy? This dichotomy is also rampant in the business sector. What would Jesus have to say about that accounting practice, or that marketing strategy? Or do we only let Jesus have his say on our personal "spiritual lives"?

The Jesus I know caused trouble, and to be honest we in the West seem to have designed our lives to avoid it at all costs. Jesus called a spade a spade, but in pleasant Christian circles, we'll only talk about the spade to the hoe, the fork, and the trowel. The person with whom we have a grievance is often the last to hear about it. As the proverb says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

Here are some more things about the Jesus I know. But remember, like you, I haven't seen all of him yet, and that's my fault not his, so any falsehood here is mine. I'd know he'd want me to be provocative...

The Jesus I know would condemn abortion, but also be comforting to those who have gone through it.

The Jesus I know would never put a nation's interests above the interests of the Kingdom.

The Jesus I know would scream at a world economic system that rapes the developing world.

The Jesus I know would support Liverpool. Oooops, I think I just made my point.

This is the Jesus I am still getting to know.