The Jesus of Suburbia

Adapted from the book, The Jesus of the Suburbia, by Mike Erre

In Luke 2:41-51, we see the boy Jesus being left by his parents in Jerusalem. As Mary and Joseph were traveling they realized that they had left Jesus behind.

"This story brings to mind much of modern American Christianity. It seems in many ways we are like Jesus' parents on the road to Jerusalem: We think He is with us, but we've moved on without Him. Do we as western Christians reflect Jesus or obscure Him? Can we say that we, His Church, teach what He taught, love what and whom He loved, and hate what He hated? Are His priorities really ours? I think we have lost sight of Jesus among all the trappings of the Christian religion. Amid all the hype about the growing political power of evangelicals, the growing numbers of mega-churches, and the booming, billion dollar Christian subculture industry, I wonder if we have left Jesus behind. Or, worse, if He has left us behind? Much of what passes for modern, western Christianity isn't of Jesus. We can (and do) lose Jesus right in the middle of prayer meetings and worship services. We can miss Him in the Bible and in church. As the Scriptures remind us, not all worship is pleasing to God, not all Church services are attended by Jesus, not all teaching is sound, and not all prayer is "in Jesus name". Is it because we have substituted human traditions for the teachings of God? Have we made our Jesus the Jesus of Christianity, not the Jesus of the Gospels? We may think we worship Jesus of Nazareth, but in reality we worship the Jesus of suburbia. A growing number of people are awakening to the same thought Mary and Joseph must have had: we've lost Jesus, and we need to begin searching for Him."

Be blessed,
Steve