Our world has warped Jesus!  So many of us have made Him into what we want Him to be and taken way from all that He really is.  There are so many different pictures of Jesus today and the big problem is that most of them are wrong!  The problem with our distorted view of Jesus is that our picture of Jesus influences the action of our lives.  Take just a minute to think about your picture of Jesus and the kinda influence that it has on your life! 

We need more than ever to really see and hear from Jesus!  When we get our picture right – we will get our lives right!  My picture of Jesus matters, because it influences everything else!  When my picture is right, it centers my life and helps me to really live according to His purpose and not my own self-generated and often defeating interest.

One of my favorite pictures of Jesus comes from John 4:1-29 when Jesus encountered the woman at the well.  Three things jump out of this passage and grab my attention about who Jesus really is! 

First,  I noticed that Jesus went where He was needed!  Even when He did not feel like it – He was looking for an opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life.  He could have just went home and went to bed, but He knew that there was someone that needed what He had to offer and so He went to a place that others avoided.  (Samaria)

Second, Jesus stepped out of the circle that others had drawn for Him!  He not only went to Samaria, but had the audacity to have a conversation with a woman of all people.  This conversation with this woman was about so much more than a drink of water.  Jesus was reaching into her life to bring about change that would bless her and others.  Jesus reached into her life before there was any change on her part.  That’s because real change can only come through the power of a right relationship with Jesus!

Third, Jesus ministered to the real need!  Jesus knows the truth, even when you think you’ve got the rest of the world fooled!  A lot of people think that they know Jesus, but fail to recognize Him when He is standing right in front of them!  We need a real relationship with Jesus, a relationship that allows us to see Him and recognize Him at work in our lives!

We are the body of Christ!  If others are going to see Jesus, they will see Him through you and me!  Where are you needed?  Stop doing what is only comfortable and pleasing to you.  We are not here on this earth to be satisfied – we are here to be empowered!  Where does God want you to go and what does God want you to do?    We’ve got circles that we’ve created and that others have created for us.  These circles are holding us back from being what God created us to be and from doing what God created us to do.  Bust out of the circles that are holding you back from God’s wonder working power.  Think about this:  If it’s not God’s idea, then what’s the point?  How will you meet the real needs of others?  Show them Jesus – the real Jesus!  Look past the surface and to the heart and you will discover that we all need the love, forgiveness and restoration that only Jesus can bring.  Find God’s right direction for your life and make a commitment to share that right direction with others!