JESUS... God, or your own image?

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1 John 5:7

Why do so many believe that the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are not the same? They can point to scripture where Jesus refers to God as his father, but does he not also tell us to pray (the Lord's Prayer, or 'Our Father') to God as if we, too, were his precious children. Perhaps I'm a bit old fashioned (or jaded by chat room bs), but I find it sad when people try to make Jesus conform to their own image... a liberal prophet man, who is not God, yet who they believe they need to have in order to get to God (which, by their own logic and biblical principles, makes them in violation of the 1st commandment, as they worship Jesus instead of God. Think about it.)

Statements such as 'Jesus would allow people to make a choice' (regarding abortion) give me a sad reason to shake my head. Jesus was not 'liberal' at all. He was a literalist, and clung to the Scriptures. Jesus did not approve of the politicians of the day scamming money off the people (the scene at the temple). Nor did he approve of sex outside of marriage or numerous affairs (the Samaritan woman.) He also did not approve of people judging others when they themselves were in sin (another temple scene, where he wrote in the sand and then asked the men 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone.)

Likewise, I cringe when people assume Jesus was powerless over himself. Yes, he could bring Lazarus back from the dead, and overcome temptation for weeks in the desert, but he couldn't keep it in his 'pants'? Jesus lived during a time where the majority did not feel 'me first' was correct. Most people did their best to follow the laws of the time, because the repercussion was death. Sure, there were those who slept around, killed, stole and what have you... but there were far more who tried to live by God's strict OT laws. Back then, duty was everything, and duty to God was believed in. Jesus, in human form, was the Son, and he followed his Father's will. He knew his purpose was to speak of how things had to change (or, more accurately, how things needed to get back to the traditional teachings) as well as fulfill the covenant between him and Abraham. Yes, death was his future... and he lived for that brief time just for that purpose. After his death, he didn't hang around, but returned to Heaven, sending the Holy Spirit in his place.

He wasn't a 'radical'... he was rabboni (teacher.) He taught the Scriptures in ways the people could understand. He chose to not hold a position of worldy title (he never became a Sadducee, which was the governing rank for those of lower or middle income... he was never wealthy enough to be a Pharisee.) He never married... not because he wasn't interested in women, but because he had a job to do, and procreation wasn't part of it. If he had married before he began his ministry, his wife is never listed (so, if... big IF... he had married, he would have been a widower without children.)

Like it or not, Jesus was very hard core. It's that attitude that caused friction between the Sanhedrin and him. He chastised them, publicly, for their liberal thinking and 'me first' attitude. He scolding them on their greed, their lack of concern for others and 'me first' thinking, and their judgmental actions. He had a lack of tolerance for those who broke God's laws... but he chose to deal with those who had 'sinned' by teaching them the error of their ways and then explaining how God was there for them, would forgive them, and give them Eternal Life if only they asked. Sometimes he only said 'Go, and sin no more'. And, other times, he would expand and say 'you have no husband... etc.' He ate with sinners, and they loved him... because he showed them mercy, but always with a touch of God's law.

I have the "Buddy Jesus" (from the movie Dogma) as one of the pictures on my AOL profile. It isn't there to insult Christians or God. It is there because it seems that the world is trying to make God fit that image... a happy-go-lucky Savior who doesn't care if babies are aborted, if women are abused, if people run around screwing everyone they meet, and he certainly doesn't care if we all pick up rocks to throw at each other. Go ahead, Jesus is your Buddy and he approves of your 'me first' mind set. Jesus, the touchy-feely God or prophet, who turns a blind eye to sin. Oh yes, this is the image of Jesus that many Christians hold. The Buddy Jesus is in my profile because I feel that many people have crucified Christ (again), only this time they have not removed him from the cross, but instead threw the whole thing into a hole and screamed "STAY DOWN THIS TIME"... and then went about their lives, making a new image of Christ, so they could continue with their own thinking and views.

They forget that we did not come to earth to save God.

They forget that God is all powerful and does not need our approval.

They forget that God defines what sin is, and that we can not cling to our own ways once we commit to God's ways.

It is said that there is one sin that God does not forgive... blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is God... then it would apply that God does not forgive blasphemy of himself. Sin is an insult to God... and those who sin in his name are going to have a lot to answer for on their own day of reckoning. Although I must love them, I do not have to love their sin. So, I pray that each person who walks around with the buddy jesus in their heart, instead of Jesus, wakes up and understands that God sees only black and white... no shades of gray when it comes to sin.

WWJD?

John 8:42-47 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."