Got Jesus?

There it was in black and white...a worn bumper sticker on the car ahead of me that read, "Got Jesus?" Of course, it's supposed to be a cute "play on words" based on the "Got Milk?" ad campaign. Those with a more confrontational bent will also use the bumper sticker that adds, "It's Hell without him."

My first reaction when I saw the bumper sticker today was, "Well, yes I do." And then I thought more about it. Really, I don't "got" (or have, for you grammarians, you know who you are) Jesus. He is so much bigger, more expansive and more loving than I can ever fully comprehend. He say so many things I wrestle with. He calls me to trust him even when it seems like the world is ending. Jesus is bigger than my little world.

You see, when I think of "having" something, I think of possessing it, holding onto it, owning it even. And I don't possess Jesus. I don't own Jesus. I can't hold onto him. (I think that's why we're told not to have graven images...because when we hold onto an image, we tend to think we can "possess" or even "control" the one the image points to.)

Instead of having Jesus, I'm much more content with the idea that he has me. I belong to him, not the other way around. I am possessed by him. When I stumble, I am caught by him. When I fail, I am picked up by him. When I do well, he's there to cheer me on. In every circumstance, he's there to love me. He has me. He holds me. And for that, I am very, very thankful.

Got Jesus? No. I don't. But he has me. And that makes all the difference in the world. Thank God that he has me in his hand.


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