what do you love about Jesus?

I recently read the book 'Organic God' by Margaret Feinberg and appreciated her thoughtful insights about who God is and how we relate to him. She looked at how we can get rid of the unhealthy pollutants and additives of the world and purify our relationship with God.

She shared a story about a friend of hers who once asked her the question, 'What do you love about Jesus?' She said, 'His words took my breath away. I had never heard somthing so simple but soul penetrating. Some say that love has no agenda, but...I have come to believe that love is the agenda.'

It is indeed a simple, yet thought provoking question...what do you love about Jesus? I love that Jesus is full of suprises. He doesn't do things like we expect him to. This week at our Wednesday morning communion service we were reading the Gospel of Matthew where in chapter 8 Jesus cleansed a leper and healed the centurion's servant. In both of these acts of Jesus' ministry, he didn't do what was expected. To even come near a leper was unthinkable, and yet Jesus reached out and touched him, and he was healed.

The centurion was a Gentile, not one of the 'in crowd' so to speak. Yet he had great faith and knew that by the authority of Jesus' word, his servant could be healed. And he was, at the very moment that Jesus spoke. Jesus 'should' have been keeping himself clean and ministering to the right people, but he didn't do what we expected him to do.

In our limited, human thinking we are always surprised by what Jesus does. And often we're not very happy about it, but Jesus simply says - 'I have come to do the Father's will.' That's what I love about Jesus...that in his great love for the world, he acts and ministers in the will of God, even when it doesn't make sense to us. His love goes beyond my understanding, yet I know that his love is what has forgiven me, saved me, and stays with me each day as I seek to follow him.

What do you love about Jesus?