Imaginary Jesus... Will the real Jesus please stand up?

 Okay, so Imaginary Jesus is actually the title of a very interesting book by Matt Mikalatos. 

While this is a ridiculously good book, and I think you should read it, I am not writing this with the purpose of selling the book.

Imaginary Jesus REALLY made me think. 

Looking back over my life as a Christian, I realize that I have most definitely been following imaginary, made-up, Jesuses(?).

When I was new to the faith Magic 8 Ball Jesus was my bud.  He was so convenient.  Our typical conversation would go something like this:

Me: "Jesus, am I going to make it to the gas station before I run out of gas?"
Jesus: "Outlook good!"

*Thankfully* my fondness for Magic 8 Ball Jesus dissipated when I started to ask questions with a little more content.

So, I moved on to other imaginary Jesuses.  I went through

• Children's book Jesus
• King James Jesus, because as we all know, Jesus spoke in 1600's English... 
• Patriotic Jesus
• Legalistic Jesus

The list could go on and on.  

Mikalatos states in his book,

"The real Jesus was frightening sometimes, and he said things I didn't like.  He required sacrifice.  He scared me by doing things I didn't believe he could.  He was a better person than me. 

I preferred my fake Jesus."

As I look back over my years as a Christian, I had no idea that I was following imaginary Jesuses.  It is painfully clear that I was.  Painfully clear that fake Jesus, whatever form he might be in, simply tastes better.  I preferred fake Jesus. 

Which really makes me think,

"Am I still following an imaginary Jesus?"

I believe the only way that we know if we are following the true Son of God, is if we compare our Jesus with the Jesus in the Bible.  If they don't match up, we have an imposter. 

I find myself more and more delving into God's word.  The real Jesus is in there.  He may not be the easy Jesus, or the least controversial Jesus.  He may ask me to do some pretty crazy things, put me in some uncomfortable places, and scare the daylights out of me, but this is the Jesus I was made to follow.

This is the Jesus I want to teach my daughter to follow. 

Lord, please reveal yourself to me.  I want to learn to know the real Jesus.  I want to follow the real Jesus.  I want to be a genuine Christ follower.  Give me the strength to leap into the faith and love that you designed for me.  Amen.

Mikalatos, Matt. Imaginary Jesus. Tyndale House Publishers Inc. 2010.