The Little Munchkin

I've been hit with a new understanding of Jesus the past few weeks. In one of the books I was reading for my internship I came across the statement "Jesus is not the church. And the Church is not Jesus. We can't get those two things confused." And so it got me thinking...what the heck does that mean??

So, I reverted back in my head to sunday school as a cute little munchkin, with long blonde curly locks, and remember hearing over and over again, "Jesus is always with you" "No matter what Jesus will never leaver you" "Jesus is everywhere" "Jesus is always always always (you get the picture) with you" And so I think I (and a lot of other munchkins hearing the same things) started to create an understanding of Jesus that was this thing, this being, this spirit, that was everywhere, all at once, with everyone, never leaving. Because as far as I know, humans can't do all those things, so Jesus, even though he was a human, kinda lost that human feel to him. Because he was everywhere, and always with me.

Now when I came out of my munchkin dream from Sunday school, I realized that the the "weird floaty spirit thing" that was always with me, was, and is, the Holy Spirit. Jesus, even though we don't talk about it much, after He died, overcame death by resurrecting His body, appearing to his disciples, and then ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. It says in Luke chapter 24 verse 36 that "Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." It says he STOOD AMONG THEM. And of course, like any normal human being, they figured they were going crazy and seeing ghosts. I would too. But nope, this was the real deal. Jesus tells them in verse 39, dudes Im not a ghost, I am flesh and bones, touch me seriously. And then to top the whole shindig off he goes and is "taken up into heaven." And as far as I know, thats the last we have seen of Jesus. So, if my steps are right here...then Jesus is with God, still as real as he was when he walked on this earth. Now THAT IS THE JESUS IM TALKING ABOUT! Jesus is with us, yes, always, totally, because when you read on, Jesus' SPIRIT comes down to earth and empowers us and lives with us and breathes with us. The Holy Spirit is always with us. Jesus, is a real person, who lives with God right now.And not on big fluffy clouds in the sky singing twinkle twinkle little star...

But seriously guys, how rad is that? That Jesus is alive, and His Spirit is here with us. God has really renewed that idea in me. This is a big deal, and I want to tell other little munchkins with curly blonde locks that Jesus sent His very own Spirit to be with them everywhere everyday, and that Jesus is real, and that one day everything will be renewed and restored where we can live with THAT Jesus here on earth. Take that little munchkin.

P.S. I never really got back to the original question I started with from the book, but I learned some other really cool things so I figure I don't need to for now.