Tiny Jesus?

From Maurice McCracken:

I had something of a Damascus road moment late last term when studying Colossians 4 with my Relay Worker. We were looking at the fiddly bit at the end about slaves, master, wives, etc, and I was thinking “this is all a bit detailed and intrusive.” And then it occurred to me – if Jesus is as Colossians 1 describes him, if all things are, indeed, by him and for him then he is indeed concerned with the way we do all things. It is possible for every part of life to be about showing his glory, because that’s what all of life is made to do. I just wonder if myself, the students, and the church in general has a small Jesus: there are whole areas of life he has nothing to do with.

How big is your Jesus?  If he isn’t the all encompassing, all possessing, all glorious Son of God who lays claims to every last bit of your thought, emotions, energies and passions He isn’t the real Jesus at all.

For the first time in a long time I was in Auckland city centre for a meeting with a colleague.  Ben Carswell was in town and we got together to catch up and chat through a couple of ideas we’d bounced around previously.  It was a glorious day and Ben and I sat at one of the waterfront cafe’s in the glory of afternoon sun and chatted about Jesus, TSCF ministry, theology and life in  general.

I travelled back home by ferry. Its a 35 minute journey across the Waitemata harbour and I made sure I got a seat on the open deck.  As we pulled out of the Auckland ferry terminal I thought about how much I loved the work God has given me to do.  I love the colleagues I work alongside they challenge me to love Jesus more than myself, I love the students that we serve – in good and bad times they remind me of the all encompassing truth of the gospel and I love the place that I’m currently living in: not just New Zealand but Auckland too.

Pulling out into the harbour the skyline of the city centre is pretty impressive: from Sky Tower through to the volcanic dome of the Auckland Domain where the museum sits atop, yesterday glistening and glowing in the sun light.  For the first time I saw, really saw, the names on top of the buildings.  Banks, national and international, insurance companies and hotels declare their ownership of the heart of New Zealand’s largest city for all to see.

Jesus claim over this city and this land is bigger, more valid and more vital than any of those neon signs.  His Lordship is the only one that makes real sense.  If we believe in ‘jesus’; a small religious figure who is only interested in 2 hours of our Sunday mornings, interested in only 10% of our money and who keeps out of our ‘personal’ lives – we do not believe in the real Jesus!

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1:15-20