I keep a painting of Jesus in my woodshop. It was painted by a young girl who had a vision. It is a painting of a kind and friendly guy……a guy who taught us to love each other and to avoid judging each other…….to take care of each other…….even those who harm us. This is the Jesus who loved children. This kind gentle person is the Jesus whom we all know………my friend. This is a painting of the Jesus who suffered and died to save me. It is hard for me to wrap my brain around this Jesus…….but I try.
And I am grateful.
But, there is another face of Jesus…….one that we rarely think about. This other face of Jesus is even harder to understand……so hard that we just don’t give him much thought.
What about Jesus…….. before Bethlehem…..before the manger…..before the shepherds and wise men? What about Jesus during the old testament? What about Jesus during the seven days of creation?
What about Jesus BEFORE creation?
He was there……hard at work……all along…….. sometimes as one face of the Trinity……. sometimes by himself. When we think of Jesus, we tend to see the guy on the wall of my shop…….a gentle “Casper Milquetoast” sort of guy. But, he is also the creator. He is the power that brought everything into being. He was behind creation, the flood, the enslavement of Israel, the exodus, the return to the promised land, the babylonian exile.
He is behind the modern state of Israel.
Here is my point. Jesus knew all of this. Jesus knew his power. Jesus knew it all……..past, present, and future. He knew it as a child, as a son, as an apprentice woodworker, and as an itenerant preacher.
He knew all of this as he hung on the cross.
More importantly……..he knew his power. The Jesus who created everything could have come down from the cross, destroyed everything, avenged himself, and gone on about his business…….leaving mankind, and the entire universe, in the dust….. literally.
Jesus is kind, gentle, patient, and forgiving.
But, he is also powerful.
And, ultimately, he is in charge.
Ultimately, he will have his way.
Ultimately, he will get what he wants…….but, just exactly what is that?
Jesus wants relationship…….with me……. with you.
Which brings me back to the picture of the guy on the wall of my shop……my friend……..who just happened to create the universe.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
John, NIV
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John, NIV