We were sitting in the car on the return leg of a whirlwind weekend trip to Denver. Never mind that this was hour 11 of the 13- hour trip, or that there were 5 of us (each over 5 feet tall) stuffed into a Chevy Cavalier. We had exhausted talk radio, pop radio, and the Country music stations, now on their 3rd rotation of the same songs. Since I was driving, I got to choose the music for the hour. I chose the best of Avalon, and was pleased to hear the song “More Than a Story,” one of my favorites. The song speaks of Jesus being everything to the believer. Jesus is everything to those who have entrusted their very beings into His care. He is the air, the water, and the very life that keeps us all going. The song also, as the title reveals, speaks of the person of Jesus being more than just the historical figure, a good historical story. To the believer, Jesus is “more than a story… more than words on a page of history.” He is, in fact, everything. And, it shows.
The weekend in Denver was spent at the American Academy of Religion/ Society of Biblical Literature regional Conference. There were scores of professionals and academics presenting papers on a plethora of topics. Being one person, I was only able to listen to a dozen or so papers, but when all was said and done, in my experience, Jesus showed. It showed in the readings of the papers, whether Jesus was everything to the presenter, or simply words on a page; and what a stark contrast it was. I can identify 3 or 4 presenters in which it was obvious that Jesus was more than just the words on the page of history to them. One presenter in particular was so excited about her presentation information- Christ in you- that she nearly jumped out of her skin. Her presentation was energetic and real. During the question and answer period following, one scholar did thank her for her “lively presentation”.
It goes beyond “lively presentations”, however. It is the presence of Jesus within. It is the passion within that only Jesus within you can create. His very presence in us gives us life, and that life cannot help but overflow… unless… we quench it. It was the presence of Jesus within the 4 presenters that I noted earlier that brought their information up off the page and into the mind and heart of those listening, making their information relevant and interesting, and gave the audience food for thought and further study and conversation with the Lord.
The point I came away with on that late night after the weekend, is that Jesus is MORE than just a good story. He is MORE than the facts of His historical life. He is MORE than just human words. He is the very WORD of GOD. As the first chapter of Colossians states, He is in all and over all, and holds it all together, and gives LIFE to everything else. He gives life to the words on the page, whether they are the words of a hard working scholar, another writer, or the inspired writers of the Old and New Testaments. It is Jesus, and only Jesus that brings those words, and in fact any words, to LIFE
The person of Jesus Christ is what brings anything to life, because He is life, and He holds it all together. No matter what the words are, Jesus is the living Word, bringing everything to life and keeping it that way.
So what does that mean for us? We have to decide who Jesus is. Is He a good story; a nice historical figure that stays in history, or is He indeed everything to us- the air, the water, the Sustainer, the LIFE within. If He is just historical Jesus, we won’t get too excited. Our life can be happy and “a good life” but we will miss out on the MORE that Jesus is. It is only if Jesus is truly more than just a story (or words) within us that we really experience LIFE, as Jesus opens our eyes to the MORE in life that can be found in and with Him. Jesus…historical, or more? Life- a “lively presentation”, or more?