What does Jesus look like to you? Is he Black, White, or Asian? Is his appearance a big deal to you?

Over the years, humans have altered the appearance of Jesus to meet their preferences. His image, physically and inwardly, has been altered and distorted to earn the respect and “love” of people all over the world.

We have a hard time accepting Jesus as he is because we feel as though we can’t relate to him if he is not just like us. We change His image so much that the original version of Him is no longer visible or remembered.

When we lose sight of the real Jesus, we begin to follow something that is so far from Him without even realizing it. The real Jesus seems too harsh for us, so we sugar-coat what we can to make us feel better.

Jesus wants us to just let Him in so that we can have a real relationship with him, but we push him aside to worship the Jesus that we have created; the Jesus who looks just like us; the Jesus who acts just like us; the Jesus who accepts the bad that we are unwilling to give up.

We get a sense of hope and peace when we have someone to talk to when no one else seems to be listening, or someone whom we can ask for help when no one else is around, but what are we willing to sacrifice for hope?

We often turn to someone or something that doesn’t exist because we are too selfish to turn to someone who is real and caring. If we would only be willing to let the real Jesus live in our hearts, we could see that what He looks like is irrelevant and what we think we want is no longer necessary.