Why I never liked Jesus?

I never liked the stories of Jesus when I was a kid. Many times I still don't, and I recently stumbled on why.

I didn't like his personality. Perhaps it was well-meaning theologians who were trying to wrap it all into a single character. Trying to include his omnipotence and omniscience they stripped him of all the grit necessary for adventure and love. Think for a minute. How would it be like to hang out with someone who never took any risks, never was vulnerable, never knew fear, always knew what to say, always stayed in control, never had emotions at the top or bottom end of the norm, and never was uncertain about anything.

No wonder I didn't like Him.

What if I told you it was a fake -- a religious veil we put over Jesus because we don't want Him quite so close.  That image of Jesus has more to do with the insecurities we have. We prefer a God who is in control instead of a God who who struggles in Gethsemane.

We explain away the anger and certainly any uncertainty because we fear these things ourselves.

We want a Jesus that will enable us to rise above it all rather than a Jesus that joins the muck of life.

The purpose of religion is to explain and eliminate the uncertainty of life. Jesus doesn't follow this agenda. He didn't get that memo.

So the first generation of hypocrites killed Him. The next 60 or so have covered Him with a pius  invulnerability.

Recently, I read a book about Jesus that made me weep and worship (Beautiful Outlaw). This got me thinking like this.

I hope you bump into the real Jesus sometime like I did.  You might get dirty. You might get rocks thrown at you. You might even fall in love.