This week, I started a new book called Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge. This book is about what the
other refers to as “experiencing the playful, disruptive, extravagant
personality of Jesus.” In the first two chapters that I read this week, Eldredge
essentially suggest that Christians take Jesus way too seriously. This is an
idea that, at first, causes me a little discomfort because I was raised in what
I would consider a conservative church environment where topics of Jesus’ sense
of humor were not often front and center.
Eldredge suggests that iconic
pictures of Jesus, that consistently portray him as a somber, nearly statuesque
man void of any type of real personality. I have never really thought about
this before, but as I began to reflect on my personal view of Jesus, I realized
this is how I view him—all serious, all the time.
The author tells a story of a
coffee mug that he received as a gift from a friend for Christmas one year:
normally the mug has a typical picture of Jesus, with the saying “Jesus saves”
underneath. However, when you fill the mug with liquid the picture transforms
to a now beardless Jesus and the words below say “Jesus shaves.” He recounts
how his kids asked him “what he thought Jesus thought of joking about him” and how
he unconsciously realized he would hide the mug whenever people from church
came over, so that they wouldn’t see it and think he was taking his faith too
lightly or making a joke at Jesus’ expense. He then suggests that Jesus
actually has a thriving sense of humor and uses scripture and biblical
commentary to back his claim up—encouraging readers to try and view Jesus in a
way that has room for humor and fun.
This story reminded me of when I
was in high school and went on a mission trip to New York City with my youth
group. While there, a few of my friends and I bought “Jesus is my homeboy”
t-shirts from these vendors on the side of the street. My youth leaders didn’t
really like that we did this and told us that we were making a mockery out of
Jesus and that God probably wasn’t thrilled with us at the moment. Reflecting
back on this, it’s kind of sad that many Christians have adopted this idea of a
“no fun” Jesus and let that permeate their world, defining how they view God
and life.
Reading Log:
Monday: 8:30-9
Tuesday: 8:30-8:45
Wednesday: 8:30-9
Friday: 8:30-8:45
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