The Jesus I Want to Be
Shortly after we arrived in Kenya, one of the high school classes hosted a talent show in which the student body was invited to participate. So, the dorms emptied, and we all gathered in the auditorium for a night of fun, laughter, and a variety of entertainment. As the evening ticked by, the emcee opened the microphone for anyone in the audience who didn’t sign up to join in the evening’s events. You could hear a pin drop. Didn’t seem that anyone was interested; but, sitting next to me, my six year old, Mandy, started to wiggle. Before I knew what was happening, up she popped, and there she stood on stage with microphone in hand. The class president residing over the evening asked her to share what she would perform.
“Jesus, Be Jesus In Me,” piped up my precious daughter. This was her go-to, most favorite chorus that she always picked during our family worship nights.
With boldness, she stood in front of an auditorium packed with between 200-300 staff, students, and visiting parents, and sang the chorus two times with all her heart:
Jesus, be Jesus in me…
No longer me, but Thee.
Resurrection power, fill me this hour.
Jesus, be Jesus in me…
As she finished, the audience sat quietly for about one whole minute, then everyone rose to their feet, cheered and applauded my little cutie, who simply handed the mic to the emcee and quickly walked back to her seat.
That concluded the evening.
I ran across the picture that someone from the yearbook staff took that night and scanned it for you.
When I discovered it, I sat basking in the nostalgia of that evening’s surprise performance. However, more than enjoying Mandy’s participation, I pondered those words – what a prayer!
There is one more verse in the song that Mandy didn’t know:
I empty my cup of all that I hold
And I lay it at Your feet
My life is Yours, please take control
Fill me, and make me complete.
Again, what a great prayer, which has been the cry of many a disciple’s heart…to be like Jesus.
Even the Apostle Paul said in Colossians:
For this I labor, struggling with all His energy that He works powerfully within me(Colossians 1:29, emphasis mine)…
And, just two verses prior, he wrote:
…God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)
Paul also stated as a personal goal that it was his desire to “imitate Christ,” whose Spirit resided in him, and he prayed others would do the same (1 Corinthians 11:1, Ephesians 5:1).
But, as I pondered the lyrics to this little chorus, the question came to mind, “Which Jesus do you want to live in you and through you?”
I certainly hadn’t expected that question.
“Well, the Jesus of the Gospels, of course!”
While the answer to this random question seems obvious, I recognize that in the world in which we live today, the personality of Jesus is becoming more and more obscured.
To some, the Jesus of the Gospels is being maligned and misunderstood according to the perspective through which we view Him.
We have a tendency to recreate Jesus according to our own desires, politics, whims, and opinions.
Some want a lenient, loving, inclusive Jesus who affirms and agrees.
Some want a political Jesus, who leans “red or blue,” depending on their personal flavor of politics.
However, the Jesus I want living through me, doesn’t vary from the portrait Matthew, Mark, Luke and John painted for us. This is the Jesus, I long to have shine His light in me, through me, and out of me. The Jesus I pray will daily transform me so I look and act in similar vein.
Oh, that He will conform me to His image (Romans 8:28).
The Jesus of the Gospels:
Led with humility, always serving.
Lived love through sacrificial giving.
Never demanded His own rights, but sought to uplift “the other.”
Cared for the “least of these” through meeting needs. He healed the sick, fed the hungry (all out of His own resources), welcomed children…
Didn’t ever attempt to transform culture (“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar”), but desired, above all, to transform hearts (think how culture shifted after His death).
Spoke truth boldly, confronted sin with love, respect and gentleness.
Resisted personal temptations and honored His Father’s will, even when it was a difficult ask (think “cross”).
Detested hypocrisy…especially within the “church” (the temple) – “Woe to you, hypocrites…”
Unpacked Scripture so that all men could understand, find their way to the Father, and the eternal home He is preparing for them.
Knew His purpose and never deviated.
Always, always showed us the heart of the Father.
These are just a few of the things that come to mind, when I pray, “Jesus, be Jesus in me…” This is the Jesus I desire to be, not a recreated Jesus that agrees with me, but the Jesus who is bold, Biblical, compassionate, and sacrificial.
So, I pray, singing, “Jesus, be Jesus, in me…”
