I like Jesus

(Thoughts from reading Luke 9)

I like Jesus. Of course, I love Him (though having not seen Him I am filled with joy unspeakable, etc. etc.) ... but I'm getting to the stage of liking Him a lot as well.

I like the go-to-parties-with-sinners, understanding my weakness and forgiving my sins Jesus (especially the forgiving my sins part!). But there's another side too - the frightening side, like when he suddenly starts glowing on a mountaintop, a Voice is heard from heaven, and long-dead prophets appear.

Peter, James and John must have been thoroughly spooked as they walked down the mountain. It just got spookier, as Jesus ran a demon out of a boy who was suffering big time.

And then Jesus gets all demanding. He says things like "Follow me" and "Are you ready to rough it?"

And then there are comments in scripture I can really relate to, like "They didn't get what he was saying. It was like he was speaking a foreign language and they couldn't make heads or tails of it. But they were embarrassed to ask him what he meant."

Ooh yeah, I know what that's like.

But I'm getting to like this frightening, demanding Jesus. Because He knows what He's doing. He has an agenda, a definite plan.

That's the kind of Jesus that I have to decide - will I follow Him, or not?