In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that--and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison--you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. That raises a terrible question. How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshiping an imaginary God. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity--The Great Sin.
What comes to your mind when you imagine Jesus? Some see him as a democrat or liberal, others as a republican or conservative. Some see a radical revolutionary. Others see a black man, or a gay man. Some introverts find passages that prove Jesus was, in fact, an introvert, praying in solitary places and having intimate one on one conversations. The extroverted Christians find passages of Jesus before crowds and at parties, turning water to wine, living it up in spite of the uptight religious leaders of the day--a bold extravert. Catholics see him one way, protestants another. But what should come to mind when we think about or imagine Jesus?
Nothing.
To try to imagine him, even using "holy imagination" as some say, is idolatry. It is an imaginary graven image, but an image of our making nonetheless. Our imaginary Christs are really Antichrists, other Christs, even if nice. Jesus just so happens to see things exactly as we see them. In your mind, you have met him.
(Click here for part 4.)
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