You know John?  He works down at the store….kinda medium build, brown hair, drives that pickup.  You know…….John.

Stop.  At this point, most likely, you have someone in mind.  Really I could have said most any common name like Jim or Tom or Bob, but that’s not the point.  The point is you are probably thinking of someone.  If not, feel free to play along.    And the someone you are thinking of is DIFFERENT than the someone I’m thinking of.  True, they are both called “John” but they are different people.  If I had told you more about John, perhaps given you some specific details about him like he’s married, has two boys, has a limp from a car accident, his wife plays the piano at the church, and the pickup he drives is a black restored ’46 Ford with flames down the hood and fenders.  With these additional details, you would have realized that you were not thinking about the person I was describing and would have moved away from whomever you were thinking about since he no longer met the given description.

Let’s try this little exercise again.  I’d like to give you another name.  Jesus.  Do you know Jesus?

Stop.  At this point, most likely, you have someone in mind.  His name is Jesus, sure, but what’s he like?  Can you describe him?  What’s his character like?  Is the Jesus you are thinking of the same Jesus of the Bible?  Are you sure?  This may seem silly to you, but millions of people have a Jesus that is not the Jesus of the Bible.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) do not believe in or teach about the Jesus of the Bible.  The same can be said of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians.  They have ‘a’ Jesus, not ‘the’ Jesus.  Unfortunately, most are not willing to investigate the discrepancies between what the Scriptures say and their own beliefs.

Sadly, these same claims can be made of many Christians.  Yep.  Many self-professed Christians, when questioned about the Jesus they have in their head, profess belief in ‘a’ Jesus that is not ‘the’ Jesus of the Bible.  And just like the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, they too are not willing to investigate or even listen to the discrepancies between what the Scriptures say and their own beliefs.  “So what?” you say.  “What’s the big deal?  So everyone doesn’t has every little detail down perfectly.  That doesn’t matter.  The only thing that matters is that I believe in Jesus.”  If you believe in ‘the’ Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, okay.  We can move on to other, lesser-important things and discuss and debate them as brothers.  If, however, you believe in ‘a’ Jesus and this Jesus of yours is not ‘the’ Jesus of the Bible, then there is a major problem.

In the 14th chapter of John, Jesus says that He is the only way to the Father.  If your Jesus is not this Jesus, then you don’t have the right Jesus and you have no way to the Father.  That’s a major problem if you believe you are going to heaven yet don’t believe the Bible or the Jesus of the Bible.  So what DOES the Bible say about Jesus?  Who is the Jesus of the Bible?  In the 8th chapter of Mark, Jesus asked His disciples “Who do you say I am?” and that is basically the question here; who do you say Jesus is?  Here are a few of the essentials:

• Second person of the Trinity
• Divine
• Eternal, not created
• God incarnate (Emmanuel)
• 100% man, 100% God (hypostatic union)
• Born of a virgin
• Lived a sinless life
• The fine payor for your sin
• Crucified, dead, and buried
• Arose on the third day defeating death
• Ascended into heaven

I have now told you more about Jesus.  I have given you specific details about Him.  Have you realized that you were not thinking about the Jesus described in the Bible?  Have you moved away from the Jesus you were thinking about since he no longer meets the given description?  You would have earlier with John.  Why not now?

Make sure your Jesus is ‘the’ Jesus.  Your eternity depends on it.

Have you ever felt small?  Not when you were a kid and you weren’t tall enough to ride the ride at the amusement park.  I mean small as in insignificant.  I remember the first time I saw the ocean.  Wow that’s a lot of water!  The emotions I felt while standing there are hard to describe; insignificant, vulnerable, little, powerless, and generally small.  Small seems too trite and pithy, yet it really does sum up how I felt to the extent that words can be used to express such things.  Watch this video and see if you feel some of these same emotions:

As I consider how truly little we are, it’s easy to get lost in it.  It’s a really big place, and it’s easy to give in to desperation and a sense of futility.  What’s the point in what little-ole-me does in such a vast place?  But as that thought crosses my mind, another one immediately replaces it.  Diamonds are small too.

Diamonds are small.  Diamonds are rare.  Diamonds are valued.  I am small.  I am rare.  And I am valued.  I watch that video and I see God.  There is no other reasonable explanation for the amazing intricacy, balance, power, size, and design than an almighty God.  (It amazes me that others can watch that video and see the absence of God – read the comments – but that’s a different post).  Out of that vastness, we are.  And to our knowledge, there are no others.  Some theologians go so far to say that, based on the Bible, there can be no others.  Regardless, despite being small, we are NOT insignificant.  And being rare in this large universe makes us all the more special.  We ARE valued.  We are NOT worthless.  How do I know?  The creator of all this has told us so.  ”But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

I still feel little, but only because it’s such a big place.  I am loved by God, the one who measures the universe with the span of His hand, and He has promised me that He will not lose me.  I am His and I am valuable to Him. That’s a Valentine’s Day message everyone should hear.