"how does your story make Jesus look good?"

May 13
5 min read

In my quiet time yesterday, the task was to contrast Nicodemus and John the Baptist. Not a comparison I had ever considered before, and yet it taught me a lot. Most of what I was referencing for my response was in John 3 where John is quite certain of who Jesus is. For Nicodemus, on the other hand, I wrote, skeptical. Nicodemus was earthly-focused - only seeing things for what they really are, as they really are on earth. Essentially, Nicodemus really could not think creatively. John the Baptist though? Heavenly-focused. Understands the analogy. With his God-given eyes of faith, John could see not only the earthly but also the heavenly purposes of earthly things. And John the Baptist was not threatened at ALL by Jesus coming to replace him. In fact, he knew that that was his whole life purpose and fulfillment - to pave the way for Jesus to come, and to point the eyes of those around him to Jesus. Nicodemus, on the other hand, was threatened by Jesus' presence. He didn't know what that meant for him, as a religious leader. Would it rob him of credibility? Position? If he believed, would he be leading people astray? If he didn't believe, would he be denying the one true God? So much was at stake for Nicodemus.

So much was at stake for John too - but again, he understood. John had accepted his calling for what it was, and wholly embraced it. This allowed him to boldly proclaim truth, even make himself look ridiculous, without worrying about if it was in vain. He knew that what he was doing was not in vain. He knew exactly who he was and why he was on earth. He also knew exactly who Jesus was and why he was on earth. And he knew that they were not the same reasons.

There's an article in a recent issue of Commonplace that I was reading where the author writes: "Jesus the hero does not exist to make all our dreams come true or take away all the conflict we live with, but to bring us to a deep connection with Him. He is who makes our stories ultimately true, good, and beautiful. You dream and talk and shop and eat differently depending on who your hero is, the person you admire, the one you want to be like. So, who is your hero? How does your story make Jesus look good?"

The article itself is about story, and how "Our hearts are always moving in a specific direction. We lie if we say we don't want anything. But desire is risky and potentially overwhelming. Hence, it can feel easier to shelve desire rather than to hold it [...] But for just a minute here, sit still and ask yourself what Jesus asked many people: What do you want? [...] What emerges from that silence reveals an important part of your story.

Cinderella wanted to go to the ball. Winnie the Pooh wanted a jar of honey. Anne wanted puffed sleeves. But under those dreams were deeper longings. Cinderella wanted to belong. Winnie the Pooh wanted a full, satisfied stomach. Anne wanted to be beautiful. Your desires are the signs of an alive, beating, beautiful heart, not something to be ashamed of. The minute you stop desiring, your story stops. If the blind man hadn't wanted to see, Jesus wouldn't have healed him. If the bleeding woman hadn't been desperate for healing, she would never have touched Jesus' hem and been healed, and she'd have had no story. You must go through conflict to find what you want [...] Without conflict, we don't know that we need Jesus."

Perhaps it is that we see John the Baptist post-conflict, and Nicodemus right in the middle of it. One man had made Jesus the hero of his story, allowed him to fully demand everything of his, and fully surrendered to him. The other - not yet. "Conflict is the place where your story turns, and good comes from it (eventually)."

Eventually is a really overwhelming and unclear word. It reflects an eternal perspective that is so hard to hang on to in a very temporary world. It's the type of word that Nicodemus would have had a tough time grasping. Abstract concepts were not his comfort zone.

They're not really mine either, and in this compare and contrast game I'm afraid my dot on the line would be closer to Nicodemus's than John's. There are things that I want, and I want Jesus to be my hero too, and I'm not sure if my desires and Jesus-the-hero are compatible. And so the reality is that if they're not, I'll have to give up one in favor of the other. And that's going to hurt. That's going to be a point of conflict.

But eventually - eventually - Jesus will be the hero (and He already is the hero) whether I've surrendered to that or not. And eventually - eventually - I'll see why His plan made sense. And eventually - eventually - I'll be glad I chose Him as the hero instead of following my own desires.

But right now, given what I can see?

I'm still kind of sitting at John 3:9 with Nicodemus: "How can these things be?"

But also - do you know where we find Nicodemus next? In John 19:39: "Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews."

At the death and burial of Jesus, Nicodemus was there, and it seems to be that that quantity of myrrh and aloes would have more significance than just an honorable mention toward Jesus. It seems to be an acknowledgement of Jesus' heroism.

If what I want doesn't make Jesus look good, I'm going to have to learn to not want it, and be ok with not getting it. And I'm going to have to learn to only want the things that do make Him look good, even if it means I have to go without some of the things that I want.

"John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

My story can make Jesus look good when He's the hero and fulfills all my wants and desires. It can also make Jesus look good when I hold Him as my hero amidst unfulfilled desires. The latter is definitely the harder one, but I am the friend of the bridegroom and not the bridegroom himself. So I must decrease.