what about Jesus?

am i supposed to be in love with Jesus?

i know He is the head of our church. i know we sing our songs about Him. and i know we worship Him in our church services and in our everyday lives. but as a man (or even a married woman...although i don't claim to understand that perspective), isn't that kinda weird to say? that i'm in love with Jesus Christ...? i'm ok with saying, "i love Jesus". but then again, i'm ok with saying, "i love lebron james" (despite my cavaliers being swept by the spurs). that doesn't imply any perverse form of love...and it's totally different from me being in love with carissa (whom i love being in love with!). but do you have to be in love with Jesus, who is fully God, yet fully man? that's just a little weird to think about...in fact, it's kinda disgustingly uncomfortable to write about.

and you're thinking...jeff, why'd you even have to say it like that? couldn't i just sing my songs, tip my hat to Him, and go about my week referring to Him as just "God"...without the whole "in love" stuff?

well...can you know Him as Savior, as Creator, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Jehovah God...without falling in love with Him?

i think i might have been getting a little burnt out on my faith in the past few months. at least, before last week came along. and my worship and my life over the past few months seems a little passionless in retrospect. but man, did i get a refresher!

after spending the night in the salt lake city airport friday night, my wife and i and a group of our teens returned home to crawfordsville from a week-long missions trip to manti, utah. i'm still blown away by all that happened! carissa and i were driving home from our small group last night and she turned to me and asked, "can you believe we were just in utah?!" it's crazy how flat and boring indiana seems compared to the mountains of the west!

it wasn't just a sight-seeing tour of God's glorious and breath-taking creation...and it wasn't even a work trip...it was a little unusual. we went to engage in the cross-cultural land of the mormons. more specifically, we went to converse with members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints during their annual "manti miracle pageant". (notice, i purposely did not capitalize "jesus christ" here...only because this church's "jesus" is not my Jesus)

let me explain a little. our pastor's brother, chip thompson, has a ministry to mormons in ephraim, utah, and we were invited to join them in evangelistic efforts during this year's manti (that's a city in utah) pageant. the pageant is an outdoor production of the events in joseph smith's life and the overview of the book of mormon (it would be like our easter cantatas or christmas pageants). chip and rodney (chip's pastor and another man burdened to share the gospel with the LDS) spent the first few days that we arrived training us in the basics of the mormon religion. and we poured over Scripture (our Bible) and their "scriptures" to get perspective on the Truth and how we can share the good news of Christ's gospel. the mormon church teaches another gospel that is not from God, and they brainwash their people with illogical, unfounded, and impossible doctrines and rules that they must follow to finally reach the "celestial kingdom" and one day become gods themselves! you should have seen our teens devouring the Word of God, arming themselves with the truth, marking up their Bibles and gathering an arsenal of questions to challenge the mormons in their faith, while praying for them with compassion because they are "like sheep without a Shepherd" (carissa and i were so proud and fired up by their enthusiasm, commitment and concern for the lost!)

then wednesday we spent the day in salt lake at the "temple square" touring the museums and buildings and asking provocative questions to the missionaries, tour guides and tourists whenever we came in contact with them. it was incredible to see the paranoia the mormon church has with anyone who even asks questions that may challenge their faith! all the tour guides and missionaries had a "special button" on their person that they would push when we asked too many questions...and lo and behold, bouncers (body guards, security...whatever you want to call them) would show up in seconds dressed in their suits and ties with earpieces and ask you to "stop being contentious" while threatening to throw you out. but we were just asking questions! then we'd turn around and the missionaries or whoever we were talking to would be gone...hmm.....

thursday and friday night we went out on the streets of manti at about 6:00 in the evening and we spent the rest of the night getting into conversations with the mormon people who were coming to see the pageant. it was incredible to say the least. here's this huge and gorgeous temple standing tall against a sky flooded with stars and mountains cascading around the landscape...and all those people...blinded by this cultic religion, gathering to watch a production about a man...joseph smith, whom they spend most of their time talking about.

that was what didn't make any sense to me.

i spent most of thursday night challenging men with contradictions i saw in the book of mormon, impossibilities that their prophets had claimed, illogical beliefs, direct contradictions with God's Word, and all sorts of questions that they really struggled to answer...but the conversations usually ended with them "bearing their testimony". which is how they are taught to respond when someone has challenged their belief system. they respond by saying (and they all sound exactly the same), "i know that the mormon church is true, i know that joseph smith was a true prophet, i know that the book of mormon is true...etc..."

but it wasn't until friday morning in our training when i heard the testimonies of a couple who came out of mormonism a few years ago (which is really hard for them to do), that i got my biggest beef with the mormon church. they have all sorts of ridiculous and completely offensive doctrines, inconsistencies and practices that are easy to get stuck on...but this couple kept coming back to the fact that, even though the church has "jesus christ" in their name, Jesus Christ is not the center of their church. He is merely given lip service. they focus, almost solely, on the teachings of joseph smith and their "living prophet" and aspostles...

so friday night, as i went from one conversation to the next, all i kept asking was..."what about Jesus?"

i'd listen to them tell me that "jesus was really the center of their church" and then they'd jump right into what joseph smith taught and bear their testimony to me...

and i fell more in love with Jesus through every conversation as i got to "bear my testimony" of why i love and worship Jesus...the True, Living, Holy, Awesome, Amazing, All-powerful, Saving Jesus! He gives life and hope and peace...because He is IT. nothing else. it's all about Jesus! Jesus!!! i got to go off for about 30-40 minutes uninterupted in a conversation with one of the mormon missionaries about who Jesus is to me and why i worship Him alone! and everytime i said His name...He became more dear to me, more amazing, and i couldn't say His name enough!

it maybe weird to some, but when God's Word and testimony of His Son is opened and i think about all that He has done for me...i can't help but say, "i am in love with Jesus!" and as one woman who had be converted and freed said, "it just gets sweeter and sweeter...everyday!"

so...what about Jesus? are you in love with Him?