Some time ago I was in a children’s store purchasing a gift when I saw Mr. Potato Head. You know Mr. Potato Head, right? Mr. Potato Head is the children's toy, first sold in the early 1950s, that consists of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with attachable plastic parts—a mustache, hat, nose, ears and feet.
The fun thing about Mr. Potato Head is that you can make him into anything you like. You can turn the mustache right-side-up or upside-down. You can turn the nose sideways or attach an ear where the nose should be. You can make him look happy, sad, silly or normal (whatever “normal” is for a potato head). Bottom line: Mr. Potato Head is whoever you want him to be. You create Mr. Potato Head.
Now, I think we do the same thing with Jesus sometimes. We create him to think, look, act and value the things we value most. (J.B. Phillips book, Your God Is Too Small, is a great treatment of this.) For some Jesus is a stern policeman, pointing out when we do wrong. For others he’s an aloof philosopher, offering pithy maxims about the ideal life. For still others he’s the benevolent grandfather, winking at our weaknesses and content to spend time with us whenever we get around to it. To many on the Religious Right, Jesus is a pro-life, anti-gay conservative. To many on the Political Left, Jesus is a human who encourages radical equality and who refuses to make exclusive religious or spiritual claims. The New Age movement makes Jesus an example of finding the “god within.” Animal-rights activists sometimes picture a vegetarian Jesus.
And so Jesus becomes a Mr.-Potato-Head-Jesus, looking, thinking and believing how I want him to look, think and believe. And I discover that, most of the time, I’m quite happy to allow you to continue your view of Jesus from your perspective. After all, my view about him is as valid as your view.
But the problem is that, pretty soon, Jesus is multiple things to multiple people, and there is no truth in it. Jesus becomes a vague conglomeration of whatever ideas of Him suit my situation at the time. And it becomes obvious that I’m not really on a search for the real Jesus at all. Instead I’m attempting to give Jesus a makeover so he looks more like what I want him to look like.
I’ve been thinking about all of this as I have been reading a book by Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski called: Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ. It’s a book that examines thoroughly what the Bible teaches about Jesus, and it makes a convincing case from the Bible for regarding Jesus, first, as God. He’s lots of other things—the model human, a great teacher, a friend. But first of all, he’s God.
Because Jesus is God, he shares the honors due to God. He’s entitled to our worship, our prayers, our songs, our reverence, our service, our love, and our obedience.
Because Jesus is God, he shares the attributes of God. He’s eternal, uncreated, unchangeable, immutable, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and incomprehensible.
Because Jesus is God, he shares the names of God. He’s the “name above all names,” he’s Yahweh, he’s Immanuel, he’s the bridegroom, he’s “friend of sinners,” he’s Savior, he’s “I Am,” he’s “Alpha and Omega,” he’s “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Because Jesus is God, he shares the deeds of God. He created and sustains all things, he rules over the forces of nature, he speaks with divine authority, he shows mercy, he forgives sins, he sends us his Spirit, he has power over death, he’s the source of all blessings, he’s the judge of all people, he’s our greatest friend, and the source of our greatest affection.
Because Jesus is God, he shares the seat of God. He is equal with God, he rules over all things, he will one day return to this earth and make all things new, and his kingdom will endure forever and ever.
And one more thing. This God-Jesus can be known. While there will always remain some mystery (Colossians 1:27) about the wonders of God’s grace, love and power, there need not be fuzziness about his character, his status as God and his desire to know and be known by us. Jesus invites us to talk to him, listen to him, learn from him, interact with him and be transformed by him.
So, if you believe Jesus is God, and not some Mr. Potato Head version, then what do you do with that?
Do you continue to create him in your own image or do you humbly commit to getting to know the real God (a lifetime-journey with surprises and new discoveries along the way)?
Do you listen to his counsel about real-life matters (your money, your job, your relationships, your body) and then weigh it against the counsel of others or do you say, “God, the best that I can, I’m gonna trust and follow you.”
Do you continue to believe what the world says about your beauty and worth or do you listen to God’s assurance that you are of infinite value to Him and that there is nothing you can do that will separate you from his love.
I think it matters whether or not we are willing to accept a Mr. Potato Head God, made in our image, or whether we are willing to pursue a life of getting to know and respond to the real Jesus.
I hope that each of us will humbly pursue life with the real Jesus.
