"Who are you, Jesus?" I kept finding myself asking.
"Who do you say I am?" was the answer that would subsequently pop into my mind.
"Who do you say you are?" I'd retort.
"Who do you say I am?" was the reply.
I felt like I needed to read the gospel of John.
Our leaders had given us homework to read one of the gospels, and to then present on our personal findings on who Jesus was to us, looking at what Jesus said about himself and what others had to say about him.
Every time I began to read, I earnestly asked the Lord to reveal himself to me. As I read, I was constantly searching for "titles" that I could attribute to Jesus. By the time I finished, I had come up with 289 titles of Jesus from the gospel of John.
Here are a few that I'd like to share with you. Scroll through and see what pops out!
THE ONE
The one who was constantly asked, "Who are you?"
The one who always answered truthfully
The Logos, the word made flesh
The one who is distinct from God
The one who is God
The giver of life
The light of man
The rejected one
The inviting one
The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
God unveiled
The one who sees the "unseen"
A partier
The remover of shrouds
The zealous one who demands reverence towards his Father
One who keeps his promises
The one who, whenever he speaks, reveals something about himself
One who talks to those who people say we shouldn't talk to
The gift of God
The one who offers living water and eternal life
The one who makes people so excited that they forget themselves
One who gains energy and sustenance from doing the will of God
The one who finds what we need in order for us to believe, and then makes it happen to those who ask
One who asks before healing us
One who wants us to request healing
One who gives orders without telling us his full plan
One who gives thanks for providence, even when it doesn't seem like there is enough
The one who never drives away those who come to him
The one who is willing to be consumed
The one who remains in those who consume him
One who did things in secret to avoid attention
One who speaks passionately
One who persists against opposition
One who does mysterious things
One who does not seek glory for himself
The one who the Father seeks to (and does) glorify
The one who constantly battled against us - for us, so that we would believe
The one whose voice his followers know
The one who came that they may have life, and have it to the full
The shepherd of one flock, not many
One who responds to questions of fear with answers of confidence
The one whom the high priest prophesied about - that he would die for the Jewish nation and scattered children of God, to make them all one (for that reason they plotted to take his life).
The one who was condemned to die by the high priest
The one who asks us for confirmation to the words and declarations we make
The one who urges and implores and persists to make himself known to his disciples
The one who we must obey in order to love
The one who will not leave us as orphans
The one who is in swirling conjunction with the Father and Holy Spirit
One who was betrayed by one of his closest friends
The one whose words, "I am he," knocked a detachment of soldiers to the ground
The one whose heart was focused on protecting his disciples while being arrested
The one who took the place of a rebel and murderer who was condemned to die - Barabbas
The one rejected by the people he willingly died for
One who was flogged
The one on whose head was placed a crown of thorns
The one clothed in a purple robe and mocked as King of the Jews
One who was struck in the face
One who had no basis for a charge against him
The one who claimed the authority and deity attributed to Caesar
The one who carried his own cross
One who was stripped naked
The one crucified with criminals
The one who ensured his mother would be taken care of being his passing
The one who gave up his spirit of his own authority
The God who died for his children
The one whose tombstone was rolled away
The one who made his bed when he rose!
The one who appeared to she who wept, and called her by name
The one who times everything just right
The one who reveals himself to doubters
The one whose appearance - once recognized - compelled Peter to spontaneously leap out of a boat into water to swim 300ft to him
The one who prepares a place for us
The one who meets us at our level
The one who commands us to take care of his own
The one who goes on walks with us
The one who - finally - was no longer needed to be asked by his disciples, "Who are you?"
LIFE IS GOOD
This weekend I got to climb four 14ers with an awesome guy named Jordan. YWAM Staff Liz and Steph joined us for the last two, and we got to slide down the mountain!
Since staying committed to pursuing gratefulness and joy, in addition to walking in the truth of who Jesus is, life has been simply amazing. On the way back from the above trip, I was trying to sleep but I couldn't. Why? Because God wouldn't stop showing me the wonders of his artwork as I looked out the window into the valleys and mountains and skies of Colorado - places that I had seen before were filling me with awe.
He delights in me as I delight in him, and his love is unconditional. God is steadily answering my longing prayers for joy. It has been a process for me, but I am so grateful for the journey thus far with him. There's so many more hardships and beautiful things ahead!
The adventures never end.
