It was Joni Eareckson Tada, who spoke of Jesus as a 'Man of Sorrows'. After a diving accident that left her paralysed from the neck down, she lay in her hospital bed. Although she longed to die in response to her tragedy, she came to quote these words from an old hymn:
Man of sorrows, what a name
For the man of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Halleluiah, what a Saviour!
It was Bruce Marchiano who played Jesus in the movie Matthew. He depicted Jesus, Man of Joy. He believed it was important in the film to convey Jesus in this way. It deeply ministered to people. He was cast in a way that had never been cast before.
It so changed his life that he wrote the book, In the Footsteps of Jesus. You can read his article here.
When we learn to experience Jesus in the joys and sorrows of our lives, we cultivate a deeper intimacy with Him. Intimacy with God is largely ignored in our modern culture. People go for much more seductive ideas with respect to getting to know people, and developing relationships. Yet among followers of Christ, we are learning slowly yet surely, that intimacy with others is cultivated by our level of intimacy with Christ. We get closer to each other the closer we are to Him. Just trying to develop intimacy with people will backfire on us, and often does. When we get closer to others, they may misinterpret us.
How much more meaningful when we seek time alone with the Lord, and have a quiet time to connect with our spiritual source. When we do, we are like butterflies hovering over the flowers of God's revelation. We are in a heavenly garden. The flowers that God shares with us are plentiful and fragrant. True Christians act like butterflies. They are attracted to the revelation in our lives. They want to know more about how God speaks to us. They are light-minded, never heavy.
The seduction of this age, is the notion that enlightenment comes from ideas over people. This is like having a bright light, and a lot of moths attracted to it. The moths fly into the light and are killed. They wanted enlightenment, or the light, over the person that the ideas came from. They are responding to a seductive notion, not the real love of sacrifice. As adults, we eventually realize that we must sacrifice things for our priorities and what we believe in. How much more did Jesus sacrifice for us? He became the true sacrifice, and fulfilled the Jewish Law on our behalf. Halleluiah, what a Saviour!
If a non-Christian was a caterpillar, with the potential to someday become a butterfly--the church needs to be like a cocoon, and provide a safe place for them to develop their potential to receive revelation. The church is not just a bright light attracting moths who want great ideas. Let's be moved and attracted by revelation over enlightenment and information from this age.
Resources
More on Joni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzN95rZ0LNI
