When I heard about this blog-tour, I squealed out loud (you can ask the hubster...I really did) and emailed Jared right away because I knew this was an opportunity I did not want to pass up. I was thrilled and actually a bit honored when I was chosen to participate because 1) I'm not a professional writer and 2) we've never actually met, although I am good friends with one of his cousins (six-degrees of separation and what have you). When my copy finally arrived in the mail, I danced a little happy dance all the way back to my apartment. All of that aside, let's get down to business.
This is no small feat. While it is impossible to completely characterize the nature of God (and Jesus IS God, as Jared emphasizes throughout his book), Jared does a phenomenal job, through a careful balance of Scripture and narrative, of dismantling our watered-down Jesuses and providing us with a glimpse of the powerful, sacrificial, redeeming, saving Jesus Christ of Scripture.
He writes at the close of Chapter Ten, "My friends, Jesus is not a pop song, snuggly sweater, affectionate boyfriend, a poster on your wall, self-help book, motivational speech, warm cup of coffee, ultimate fighting champion, knight in shining armor, or Robin to your Batman. He is blood. And without blood, you die."
Until we understand the reality of who Jesus is--the depth of love he shows, the "explosive, transformative" grace he gives, the unavoidable demands he makes of us to "crucify ourselves"--we can never truly live in Christ, which Jared purports to be the very essence of being a Christ follower.
In an earlier chapter, talking of Jesus as Prophet, Jared writes, "He inserts himself into our workaday lives, he invades our space and exposes our hearts. He tells us the ugly truth about ourselves, but not to shame or punish us, but to open us up, to provoke us and prompt us, to disarm our defenses and turn us--all of us, our whole selves--toward him. He dismantles our bland religion and hypothetical spirituality, he tears down our heartless theology and our faithless works. He infiltrates the very core of our existence and proclaims not our betterment or our improvement or our worthiness, but his own glory and power."
Once we've thrown away our substitute Jesuses and embraced the Jesus of Scripture, we will finally know the transformative power of the incarnate Word of God. Jared, with his provocative blend of humor and reverence, takes serious theology and makes it understandable, enjoyable, but above all, convicting as you know what.
If my humble opinion counts for anything, Jared Wilson's Your Jesus Is Too Safe delivers exactly the message the American church desperately needs to hear. We need more than the Jesus we've settled for, more than the comfortable Jesus who pats us on the back and tells us we're good people. We need the Jesus Jared writes so passionately about to step into our messy, chaotic lives and show us that he is the God who saves, the God who redeems, the God who reigns.
5 stars, 2 thumbs up...whichever way you slice it, you really should pick up a copy of Your Jesus Is Too Safe and get to reading!
