I was driving home from work and listening to a Christian radio talk show. The host was affable, warm, and smart. The guest, intelligent, sincere, and engaging. Together, they explained and explored their spiritual topic with excellence and passion. Yet, after just a few minutes, I experienced a suffocating sense of overload. I turned off the radio and continued my drive home. In silence. Pondering an alien thought:
Can a person hear too much about Jesus?
The first time I experienced such a visceral reaction to hearing more Good News, it unnerved me. Not any more. I welcome it as a danger sign, a spiritual fever warning me that I've shifted away, yet again, from listening with ears tuned to the Holy Spirit, to professional Jesus' student who thinks she can figure out the God of the Universe.
Sometimes I think we spend so much talking about Jesus that we turn Him into a science project. Something to dissect so we can understand Him better, which isn't a bad thing. But behind the understanding I'm talking about is a desire to control Him. Like reading the instructions for the remote control or a new phone. I want to know how they work so they'll serve me, doing what I want them to do.
The same with Jesus. I take in more and more info about Him, which is easy to come by. It's an embarrassment of riches, really. Christian radio. Books. Blogs. Twitter. Facebook. The Internet. Small Groups. Church. Bible Studies. Seminars. For me, preparing for Mid-Morning. But I need to be careful not to take what I'm learning and use it to treat Jesus like an insect pinned to a Styrofoam board, prepped for examination.
When I turned off the radio this week, I breathed the simple prayer I whisper whenever I'm overcome in this manner: Jesus, let me know You. He wants that for me more than I want it for myself. And He's the only One Who can do that for me.
Years ago I came across a computer image of a first-century Jewish male. Forensic archaeologists took a photo of a skeleton found in a tomb dating back to first-century Palestine, and "added" skin, hair, and eyes to create a composite of what a man living in Israel during the time of Jesus would look like.
Shocking, isn't it? This isn't what most of us imagine Jesus looks like. His physicality isn't important. But His Personhood with a capital "P," is, which is why I don't need information about Jesus. But I do desperately need the enlightenment that only comes when my Friend says, "Let Me tell you about Myself...."
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