Pictures of Jesus
PICTURES OF JESUS
My favorite picture of Jesus is the one on my little Primary Sunday School card I found recently, with brown hair and beard, and such a kind face, holding the little lamb He had rescued over his shoulders. If you showed that picture to people, many would say, “That’s Jesus.”
Then there are the black-and-white drawings of the laughing Jesus passed around the internet recently—Jesus with a baby, and Jesus with young children gathered around. Just the thought of Jesus laughing, a big deep belly laugh, makes Him seems so real to me, so human. He was human—all man and all God.
About 20 years ago, the large church I was a part of put on an Easter program, complete with a cross that was lifted up on the stage with a man playing the part of Jesus tied on the cross. He hung there suspended as Jesus had been, but the marks and the blood were all fake. Very realistic, but fake. I told him, I don’t know how a man who is Polynesian from Hawaii and part native American can look so much like Jesus who was Jewish.
The most important part of every picture of Jesus is His eyes. Every artist has worked hard to capture the essence of Jesus Christ in His eyes, no matter what the rest of the picture looks like.
However the truth is we have no idea what Jesus really looks like except for the description in Revelation 1:13-15, “and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass.”
I just know that when I reach heaven, I will know without a doubt just Who Jesus is, when I see Him face to face. He’ll be the One looking at me with eyes of love and a smile on His face, saying, “Well done, Lavon, and welcome home.”
Lavon Hightower Lewis
Do Unto Others
When Velta the next door neighbor girl came over, if we were drinking pop, we had to share. She lived with her grandmother who didn’t buy pop, so she only got pop when she came to our house. I remember many times Velta taking a drink of my pop out of the bottle I sat on the edge of the piano while I played music.
Aliens Among Us
I watched the old Star Trek from the beginning with William Shatner as the captain. Then came Captain Piccard. Then there was the lady captain, I forgot her name. I even have the Star Trek movies boxed set. One year, I was late for choir practice every week because I had to see the ending of the TV show.
Star Trek’s fascination for me was what kind of alien they were going to come up with next. I just loved those little furry balls that were almost like a dog, but the cute ones were always the ones that were the most dangerous. And then there was the robot, Data, who was always trying to find a way to “feel” like humans feel.
The movie industry has taken the subject of aliens to great lengths. The alien show usually has this basic premise: other beings come to earth, invading the bodies of human beings.
Jesus came to earth in the body of a baby and grew up. He died on the cross, was buried, rose again and ascended to heaven. Then He sent the Holy Spirit to earth to create a new race of beings. II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” That word, creature, has been defined as a new race of being.
In Hebrews 11:13-14, spoke of Abraham, Sarah, and others, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises. . .confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He has prepared for them a City.”
In shows and movies, outer space aliens invade, but the Holy Spirit issues an invitation to the person to accept Jesus and be born again, to become a member of a new race of being. We become strangers and pilgrims, walking the earth, searching for our hometown, the great City, the New Jerusalem.