Our Life Together

Your Jesus Is Too Safe.

About a month ago, I received a free and autographed copy of “Your Jesus Is Too Safe” by Jared C. Wilson. After enjoying Jared’s blog and his contributions over at the Boar’s Head Tavern, I was eager to try my luck at a random drawing for his book via facebook. I became one of the fortunate recipients to a (generously given) free copy of his book. I’m only sorry it took me so long to complete; perhaps I should read one book at a time instead of five… But now onto the review.

With a title like “Your Jesus Is Too Safe,” you’d certainly expected to be challenged, if not outright confronted. The subtitle of this book, “Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior” would also indicate the need for some growth and maturity in one’s view of Jesus. Ultimately, author Jared Wilson delivers a book not of growth and challenge so much as a recall and explication of the essential characteristics that define who Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be. Qualities outlined in chapter titles like “Promise,” “Man,” “Judge,” “Redeemer,” and “King” tell you where the book is going. All in all, Jared focuses on 12 qualities that together still form the one man we know as Jesus, dedicating a chapter to each quality. Jared’s strength is in his theological foundation, biblical exegesis, and his humor-infused, even at times sarcasm-infused, writing style. These elements make “Your Jesus Is Too Safe” a reliable read for understanding the Christ we are called to love and serve (as He has first loved and served us) while also making it enjoyable, even at times laugh-out-loud humorous.

My favorite chapter was entitled “Jesus the Shepherd.” I’m a sucker for the imagery of a shepherd caring for his sheep, so it wasn’t hard for me to love Jared Wilson’s insight peppered throughout this section. He drew a beautiful connection between the Old Testament passage in Ezekiel 34:1-6, 11-16 and John 10:7-16, when Jesus claims the title and role as Shepherd over His people. In Ezekiel, God promises: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out… I will seek the lost…” Then Jesus echoes this in John, saying “I am the good shepherd… and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

I’ll let Jared’s words take over here:

“I imagine the religious leaders of Jesus’ day got their panties in a wad over that one. His saying that he was going to assume this role would, after all, be an unambiguous allusion to God’s promise to personally shepherd us. I imagine their confusion and consternation upon confronting in the flesh the God, who, unlike them, does not shepherd the sheep by exploiting them” (pg.115).

Here’s a further taste for Jared’s writing from this chapter. (I figure the best thing is to let the author’s words speak for themselves.)

“Jesus’ leadership is also the hardest part of his shepherding for us to handle. While all of the things discussed so far are things that Jesus the Shepherd does for us–his having compassion, making sacrifices, seeking and saving, and now leading–this is the one that requires the most from us in return. We have a Shepherd who leads, but his leadership will not benefit us one bit if we the sheep don’t follow” (pg. 119)

“Repentance is not just a negative action; it’s also a positive one. It’s not just turning away from something; it’s turning to someone” (pg.119).

“We’ve got to get to the place in our ‘sheepishness’ where we trust our Shepherd as he leads us away from what looks to us like great places to graze and laze around. Because what looks good to us often turns out to be looming disaster. We’re often oblivious to our own selfishness, ignorant of our own gracelessness. We think of ourselves before others. We’re like leaderless Israel, doing what is right in our own eyes, like stupid sheep transfixed on the small patch of green before us while the ravenous lion sneaks up from behind” (pg.120).

(And those gems are from only 1 chapter out of 12.)

Yet, I still come back to the title. Again, I read it, and asked myself, is my Jesus too safe? Am I at fault in loving a Lord that I’ve created in my own image, put in my own box? What if I have? What if those around me have?

I asked these questions but found no solid challenge through the course of the book. The closest we get is in his introduction when Jared Wilson summarizes the ways in which we see erroneous, misplaced, skewed pictures of Jesus, as He has become “a generic brand, a logo, a catchphrase, a pick-me-up” (pg. 13). If He has, do we “do” anything about it? Do we discount and disregard every such picture of Jesus? Do we hold a skepticism that scoffs at the Grammy winners giving Jesus credit for their successes, do we ignore those who tell you Jesus is like an ATM offering you riches? The answer was not clear. The only answer, it seems, is to personally know Jesus for who He really is. I won’t discount this. Christians in the world need to know the living Christ. We can only know Him by knowing what the Word, the Scriptures, teach us. There is no end to this quest, this pursuit of knowledge. Christ is limitless. His mercies and love in many ways remain unfathomable. A life focused on plumbing these depths would never be wasted.

But I digress. I point this out only to guard myself from counter-critics who think I’m advocating a “Jesus alone is not enough” view. I think Jesus is enough. But for a title of “Your Jesus Is Too Safe,” I had an expectation of challenge that was not met. Granted, it was my fault to have an expectation. I will, however, raise the question on whether this book’s title is a misnomer. I had heard from Jared Wilson’s website that the first draft title was “The Unvarnished Jesus.” I don’t know why the publishers rejected that title, but I believe it would have been more apt than the present one. Jared succeeds, gloriously, in giving you Jesus as He is, as the Word presents Him, and gives the reader a fresh reminder, in-of-itself refreshing, of why He is worthy of love and worship. Even so, I think Jared Wilson himself has played it too safe. He gave us Jesus but didn’t challenge the existing problems and perceptions, even beliefs, that are rampant in our society and world today. I would have loved to been challenged more.

A second thought: I would have loved for this book to been targeted to a more mainstream, even secular, audience. I wish it would not have been pigeonholed/marketed as a Christian book for Christians. Jared’s humor and thorough exegesis of the Scriptures would make it an informative and (hopefully) even interesting read for those outside of the Christian faith, who hearken to that very question, who is Jesus? I think any non-Christian reader would find it worth their while.

Thanks Jared, for your insight, humor, and trustworthy teaching for my spiritual walk.

3.5 out of 5 stars. A worthwhile and recommended read, even though I had a personal let-down after completing it.