“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
In the movie Talladega Nights, there is a scene in which Will Farrell’s character, Ricky, prays to baby Jesus. Ricky prays to the baby Jesus because he is so much safer than the grown up adult Jesus. Scene goes like this:
[Ricky] ‘Well, look, I like the Christmas Jesus best when I’m sayin’ grace. When you say grace, you can say it to Grown-up Jesus, or Teenage Jesus, or Bearded Jesus, or whoever you want.’
[Carley] ‘You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good so that God will let us win tomorrow.’
[Ricky] ‘Dear Tiny Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers with your tiny, little fat balled up fists…Look, I like the baby version the best, do you hear me? I win the races and I get the money.’
[Ricky] ‘OK. Dear Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent. We just thank you for all the races I’ve won and the $21.2 million dollars… LOVE THAT MONEY that I have accrued over this past season. Also due to a binding endorsement contract that stipulates I mention PowerAde at each grace, I just wanna say that PowerAde is delicious and it cools you off on a hot summer day and we look forward to PowerAde’s release of mystic mountain blueberry. Thank you, for all your power and your grace, Dear Baby God, Amen.’
Fantastically funny scene. I love baby Jesus! Who doesn’t love baby Jesus? What’s there not to like about baby Jesus?
Only one problem. The baby Jesus, the cute cuddly, no crying he makes baby Jesus is not the Jesus of scripture.
You see, Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus came to take on human form in order to save us from sin and usher God’s children into God’s eternity.
Jesus wasn’t merely born. Jesus was sent.
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Jesus lived that he might die, and died that we might live.”
When we lose sight of the life, ministry, death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ all we end up with is a made-up version of Jesus. And the greatest problem with the made-up version of Jesus is that he is powerless to save us from sin and judgment.
Believe in the Christ of Scripture. Put your faith in the Jesus of God’s word. “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
Praxis: Faith in Action 