Five Things I Dig about Jesus

I have spent my morning trying to pare my list down to just five things, and it was tough but I found it a very edifying exercise. What a spiritual workout!

Thank you Michele for putting this ball in my court, I enjoyed it.

Here goes:

1. His humility. His willingness to condescend to us, not in the flesh of a mighty warrior or a powerful king, no, he came to save us in the flesh of a tiny baby. That he disrobed his shekinah glory to become the God/Man Savior. How paradoxical is that?

2. Jesus is the opposite of who I am but when He called me, then I became all that He is. I was rebellion and He was perfect obedience. That I am complete in Christ, clothed perfectly in His righteousness. When God sees me, He sees me being perfectly obedient. How great is that news!

3. That the whole bible is about Him. Seeing how God the Father's plan of redemption unfolds throughout history and that it is all about reconciling believers to himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we know Jesus was sent by God the Father to reveal His love for us.

4. His confidence. In Psalm 23, the Shepherd (Jesus) "prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies". One of the shepherd's jobs was to keep the flock safe from predators, so what kind of Shepherd sets a table in the presence of enemies? Picture sitting down to a picnic with wolves circling around your blanket? Jesus gives us a banquet of peace and grace in the midst of enemy territory because He has absolute confidence that "no one will snatch [us] out of his hand" [John 10:27-28].

5. He is my advocate before the Father. In John 17:9 Jesus' high priestly prayer, He says that "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours". I mean, do you ever forget that He is praying for us? What an awesome truth to grasp hold of.