Think about the word 'real' for a moment in a way that describes yourself. You're real. You can feel your surrounds and you're alive. The screen you're reading this on is real. The clothes your wearing are real. They all exist. Now, answer this question:
Have you ever thought about Who Jesus Christ really is in your mind, and do you believe He's real?
I have, and I do, but often times when I do, I almost think about Him in an imaginary way. Think about it, when you picture Jesus, do you picture Someone that used to live a really, really long time ago in a place, time and way that almost seems almost make believe? Do you picture a white man with long hair and a beard smiling all the time and walking around the countryside with lots of sheep? Or do you picture a man who was and is fully God that just happened to make His human appearance some 2,000 years ago, but that is still literally just as real and alive today as He's always been? For me, I usually picture the almost make believe Jesus. Not on purpose, but because that's almost how my mind has been trained to think.
Ever since I was little, I've always been taught Who Jesus was and what Jesus has done. Not as much Who He is and what He does. I've almost always been taught in a past-tense form. Sure, I've been taught God is love and Jesus does save, but what about that Jesus didn't just feed 5,000 but that He currently feeds millions? What about that Jesus didn't just heal the blind, but that He heals the blind?
Personally, I've just had a hard time connecting Jesus with reality in actual life. It's so easy to say it and say I believe, but to actually believe it and actually live, pray and know that He's REAL opens up a whole new realm, life and way of thinking. Realness changes things.
I can say I believe I'll make a million dollars one day, but that may or may not really believe that to be true. If I really, honestly believed in the realness of making a million dollars one day, my life would totally change. I would live completely differently because I'd had full faith in that idea.
Shouldn't that be the case with Jesus too?
If we really believe in that fact that He's actually real, shouldn't we actually live in a real way that supports that? Not just a way that says, 'I believe?'
It's some food for thought. I've been eating on it for a while, so I thought I'd share some leftovers. Enjoy.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: If Jesus is real, we should really treat Him like He is.