Jesus is everywhere! No, I am not talking about His theological omni-presence. Just look around, you find him on T-shirts, mugs, cards, candies, photos (when did he have time to pose?), figurines, etc. My question for today is, what would he think of this?
As I write these T or F posts, I am trying hard not to use my own preconceptions, but rather to look at the Jesus of the gospels. I don't seek to offend anyone, I am sure that my own house has its share of Jesus all over it. But what would Jesus think if he walked in and saw this stuff? Would he smile? Would he be offended? Would he be angry?
For some (perhaps obvious) reason, my mind keeps going to the story of the cleansing of the temple. People were providing a necessary service, but they were gouging the temple goers in the process. So is Jesus only okay with it if I buy it on sale or at a yard sale? Gotta dig deeper.
What is the heart of the matter? Why do I possess such things? Is it worship? And if so, what am I worshipping? Am I worshipping God? Am I satisfying some need to show myself or others that I am a Christian (rather then by showing them with my actual life)? What possesses me to spend money on something that depicts Jesus rather than assisting the poor? What would David Platt do?
I now think of my books, my "Christian" CD's (although not one of them has been baptized). Where will it end?
Now I think about the freedom I have in Christ. I think about Paul and his comments about eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols. A few trinkets to remind me about my love for my savior are not a bad thing. Jesus commended the women who poured the oil on his feet to prepare him for burial. I probably don't need the Jesus-mints (I believe they are called Test-a-mints) that I have heard about, but a picture or a bumper-fish might not be a bad thing. I guess it actually is up to the individual and God on this one. No judgments here, but there might just be a few more items in my next garage sale.
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