Five Things I Dig About Jesus

So I have been tagged by Courtney to write a meme on the five things I dig about Jesus. To my understanding, a meme is just a list, but correct me if there's more to it than that. I'm basically just copying her. :)

These are the rules for "meme-ing":

1. those tagged will share 5 things they dig about Jesus.

2. those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers.

3. those tagged will post a comment here with their name and a link to their “dig” Jesus list.


So here are my five:
1. He saved me. I know that is not exactly insightful-sounding, but where would we be without it? That is the foundation of my life. Everything I see is filtered through that fact. It reminds me of this C.S. Lewis quote: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

2. I don't understand everything about him. I mean, really, some of the things Jesus says in the Gospels are beyond me. Perhaps it's because I don't have a sophisticated theological education, or perhaps it's because I don't understand all of the context. But what I think it really comes down to is the fact that he is God, and I can't even approach his wisdom or begin to understand the way he thinks. I think that for some people, the fact that they don't understand everything God is, the fact that they can't take God apart and tinker with the parts, like something mechanical, is a turnoff. (I have seen that a lot in academia.) They brush him off as unreal or even unkind because they can't understand him. But the mind of God is so far above ours. And, personally, I don't want a God I can understand, because that means I'm almost as smart as him. I would rather have one that holds the universe in the palm of his hand, one that is so far above me in intellect and wisdom that I can trust him completely.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
Ps. 8:3-4

3. His glory. Not just the intellectual acknowledgment of his glory, but the actual experience of it. I'm talking about what it feels like when God reveals himself, just a bit, to me. It's like the ultimate aesthetic experience. You know, an aesthetic experience being when you hear an amazing piece of music performed, or when you read a poem and every line hits home. All of a sudden it feels like time stops, you get a swelling in your chest, your breath stops fast in your throat, and you want to cry because something is so wonderful and so real. That's what it feels like to me, except 10 times stronger, when God reveals even the tiniest glimmer of himself to my heart. I am convinced that the only reason it stops there is because I wouldn't be able to handle any more of him. At least, not until heaven.

4. His sense of humor. Sometimes, if I have my sense of humor intact, and if I'm paying attention, some of the stuff God does cracks me up. Mostly the irony that is in everyday life. Or how I thought one thing but he makes the point I was wrong in a funny way, and I end up laughing and saying, "Okay, okay, God, I get it."

5. The Body of Christ. Okay, maybe that is not directly one of the reasons I dig Jesus himself, but without him, there would be no body of believers, right? One of the things I like about blogging is finding other people who believe what I believe and reading what they have to say. I also love reading others' comments on those blogs. I love our Bible study group. I love my girls' dinner group from a couple of years ago. I love the godly friends I grew up with. I love the people I know from my old job at a Christian college. I do not have that kind of fellowship anywhere outside of Christian circles. We can relate in ways and talk about things that other people simply do not get. I don't know that I appreciated this very much until I moved to Boston and worked at a very secular university (Harvard), where Christianity was tolerated rather than embraced or even respected. When your whole world view is filtered through the reality of Jesus, it really does set you apart from people who do not see the world the same way. So building relationships with people who do see things the way you do is very special.