Kari Lee Fournier
Jesus IS cool
By Kari Lee Fournier
While it's too bad that these days one finds it necessary to defend their belief in Jesus Christ, it's a sad fact nonetheless. It's cool to talk about the latest reality show, current fashion, sports, the best movie that's just been released, or our recent new technology purchase – but talking about Jesus or your relationship with Him is quite another story indeed. I mean, just sayin'....
And why do you suppose that is? Well, Jesus is relegated, unfortunately, to almost an old relic in The Holy Bible – His name is brought up on occasion either to prove a point, or merely to provide amusement, perhaps even as part of a comedy routine or joke.
And what's so regrettable about that is the fact that Jesus is The Son of God – a part of the Trinity Itself. In essence, God Himself.
We see in The Bible in John 1: 1: "IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus is also referred to in John 1:14 as "....the Word was made flesh...." And so Jesus was with God in the very beginning, and then became human flesh on earth.
C. S. Lewis – author, scholar of English literature, and famous Christian apologist – in his book Mere Christianity, put it so very wonderfully: "Let us never forget the amazing sacrifice Christ made by "[becoming] flesh and [dwelling] among us." Lewis likened it to us, as humans, agreeing "to become a slug or a crab."
Imagine that: such a great sacrifice Jesus made, but it's simply not cool to mention His Name. We may get scoffed at and ridiculed. OK....
Most of us have seen Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. Even in that film, which caused us to look away from the screen from time to time, feeling physically sick at the bodily/mental/emotional abuse Jesus took – even in that movie, the torment that Jesus suffered was downplayed. In Isaiah, we read: "Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;" Jesus was unrecognizable as a human being.
Still, it really isn't the 'in thing' to mention how wonderful it was that He took our place for our multitude of sins so that we could enjoy seeing God 'face to face' one day. So we'd best shuffle all of that under the rug, or at least not mention it out in public, where we'll be referred to as an oh-so-dreaded 'Jesus Freak.'
Of course, this denial may seem like no big deal in the scheme of things. We may think that doing this is harmless enough. Who is going to know anyway? Who indeed....
Well, let's check that out in The Scriptures. Let's try the first Book of the New Testament, and see how that superficial determination measures up. Matthew 10:33 states: "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." It sure sounds like denying Jesus is pretty serious according to that statement.
As well, we know that Jesus is our Intercessor before God, pleading on our behalf as Satan accuses us unceasingly. Thus, it would follow logically that we should feel compelled to mention His Name, whenever or wherever we happen to be.
After all, His Name, the name of Jesus Christ, is as good as it gets. How does Philippians 2:9 put it? "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:"
As grudging as some of us may be to admit it, there's nothing even remotely un-cool about that.
(Originally published May 5, 2011, in the Green Bay Press-Gazette)
© Kari Lee Fournier
June 7, 2016
While it's too bad that these days one finds it necessary to defend their belief in Jesus Christ, it's a sad fact nonetheless. It's cool to talk about the latest reality show, current fashion, sports, the best movie that's just been released, or our recent new technology purchase – but talking about Jesus or your relationship with Him is quite another story indeed. I mean, just sayin'....
And why do you suppose that is? Well, Jesus is relegated, unfortunately, to almost an old relic in The Holy Bible – His name is brought up on occasion either to prove a point, or merely to provide amusement, perhaps even as part of a comedy routine or joke.
And what's so regrettable about that is the fact that Jesus is The Son of God – a part of the Trinity Itself. In essence, God Himself.
We see in The Bible in John 1: 1: "IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus is also referred to in John 1:14 as "....the Word was made flesh...." And so Jesus was with God in the very beginning, and then became human flesh on earth.
C. S. Lewis – author, scholar of English literature, and famous Christian apologist – in his book Mere Christianity, put it so very wonderfully: "Let us never forget the amazing sacrifice Christ made by "[becoming] flesh and [dwelling] among us." Lewis likened it to us, as humans, agreeing "to become a slug or a crab."
Imagine that: such a great sacrifice Jesus made, but it's simply not cool to mention His Name. We may get scoffed at and ridiculed. OK....
Most of us have seen Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. Even in that film, which caused us to look away from the screen from time to time, feeling physically sick at the bodily/mental/emotional abuse Jesus took – even in that movie, the torment that Jesus suffered was downplayed. In Isaiah, we read: "Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;" Jesus was unrecognizable as a human being.
Still, it really isn't the 'in thing' to mention how wonderful it was that He took our place for our multitude of sins so that we could enjoy seeing God 'face to face' one day. So we'd best shuffle all of that under the rug, or at least not mention it out in public, where we'll be referred to as an oh-so-dreaded 'Jesus Freak.'
Of course, this denial may seem like no big deal in the scheme of things. We may think that doing this is harmless enough. Who is going to know anyway? Who indeed....
Well, let's check that out in The Scriptures. Let's try the first Book of the New Testament, and see how that superficial determination measures up. Matthew 10:33 states: "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." It sure sounds like denying Jesus is pretty serious according to that statement.
As well, we know that Jesus is our Intercessor before God, pleading on our behalf as Satan accuses us unceasingly. Thus, it would follow logically that we should feel compelled to mention His Name, whenever or wherever we happen to be.
After all, His Name, the name of Jesus Christ, is as good as it gets. How does Philippians 2:9 put it? "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:"
As grudging as some of us may be to admit it, there's nothing even remotely un-cool about that.
(Originally published May 5, 2011, in the Green Bay Press-Gazette)
© Kari Lee Fournier
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
