So let's try the same thing with Jesus. Just one word to capture the fullness of who Jesus was and is. It's not super easy. But hold onto those two words. We'll return to them shortly.
Have you ever read a book and then gone to see a movie version later? I'm going to take a wild guess and bet that you didn't walk out of the theater saying, "Wow, that movie was SO much better than the book!" Nobody says that. No, instead, everyone walks out saying, "That was fun (or terrible), but the book was so much better."
This happened to me when I was about 11. I remember going to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on opening night. The place was packed, and I was giddy with excitement. You see, as a kid, Harry Potter was my entire world. I was all in. And seeing it on the silver screen was just the icing on the cake.
And two hours later I walked out of the theater thinking, "That was all wrong." They had messed up everything. The characters didn't look right. They left out crucial scenes. The magic wasn't as magical as it had been in the words J.K. Rowling wrote. The book was so much better, and they had ruined it for me.
There's a reason for this, of course. When we open the pages of a book, it's just us and the words. Our imaginations are allowed to run wild as they paint a picture with the poetry and the plot. The words tell a story and our minds start constructing images and smells and sounds. It's why books are so fun.
And then we see a movie, which is somebody else's imagination running wild with the same words and the same pages. We've constructed this whole exciting movie in our heads, and it doesn't look anything like the movie we're seeing in front of us. We're reading the same words, and the words are true, but the stories our imaginations are telling are a little bit different.
The same thing happens when we talk about a God who is bigger than our ten thousand words can completely capture. The Bible is full of people who experience the bigness of God and try to tell a number of different stories of those interactions.
It happened when the writers of the gospels tried to tell the story of Jesus. They were with him more than anyone, and yet the way each tells is story is distinctly unique. They might recount the same miracle or healing, but they tell them different ways. Or they tell about entirely different events. And the people who met Jesus would have told completely different stories about what God is like.
To Zaccheus, Jesus was the guy who opened his eyes to a new way of living.
To the blind man, Jesus was the healer who opened his eyes literally.
To the woman in the city square caught in adultery, Jesus was the first man to see her as beloved and worth any value.
To the disciples, he was a friend and rabbi.
To the crowds, he was a brilliant teacher.
And to all of us, we can't tell the story of Jesus without using the word savior.
That's a lot of different stories to tell about one person.
In the same ways, we tell different stories about the ways that God has impacted our lives. We all have a story to tell. Some communities tell a story about love. Others tell a story about justice. Others tell a story about conviction.
The same is true of the writers of the Bible. David called God "my rock and my fortress." The Israelites would have called God "the one who set us free." The writer of John's letters said "God is love." Jesus addressed God as "Daddy." For those who read Genesis, it's impossible not to call God "creator."
The world needs to hear your story of God. It'll be different than mine. It'll be different than anyone else's. But it's a beautiful story, because it's yours. Some of our stories of God's touch in our lives are stories of big blessing. Some are of despair and comfort. Some are of you BIG questions and doubts. Some are about God's judgment and power. Some are of healing. Some are of love. Some are of miracles.
No matter your story, it's a story of you and God. It's a story that can be shared with words and with hugs and with smiles and laughter and tears and uncertainties. And not only do you have a story, but so do others. And their stories are different, and we need to hear them just like others need to hear ours. Because the same God who is writing a story in my life is the same one who is writing a story in your life. And the same God who is filling our lungs with breath is the same God who is filling everyone's lungs with breath. And the same God who is sparking our imagination and touching our hearts is the same God who is sparking and touching everyone.
So remember those words you came up with at the beginning. They are different than the words other people would come up with. They are the foundations of your story. They are the expression of God's touch in your life. So may we go tell our stories, and may we keep our ears open to the stories that God is telling in the lives of our neighbors. The more stories we hear, the fuller our picture of God becomes!
forever unfinished...
