The Simple Message of Jesus

What’s the point of the Jesus story? It’s sometimes called “the greatest story ever told,” but in my opinion, most of the Jesus movies I’ve seen have been pretty boring. Jesus walks around in a bathrobe. He heals people wearing bathrobes. He preaches to people wearing bathrobes. He argues theology with people wearing bathrobes. Then some guys wearing helmets and miniskirts kill him. What’s so great about that? 

Why do we celebrate the birthday of Jesus? Why do we celebrate his life? Why do we celebrate his death?

My own opinion is that the point of the Jesus story is that he taught us to think in a revolutionary new way. A way that subverts everything we were ever taught was good and reasonable and fair. Here’s what I see as the simple message of Jesus…

God Loves All His Children

That’s right. God loves all his children. For some people, that’s good news. For other people, that’s bad news. Because all means all, and that’s a bit disconcerting. 

Let me spell it out a little, and you’ll see why this simple message of Jesus makes most of us extremely uncomfortable…

God loves all his Protestant children. God loves all his Catholic children. God loves all his Jewish children. God loves all his Muslim children. God loves all his Hindu children. God loves all his Buddhist children. God loves all his agnostic children. God loves all his atheist children. 

God loves all his straight children. God loves all his gay children. God loves all his cis-gender children. God loves all his trans children. God loves all his intersex children. 

God loves all his American children. God loves all his Russian children. God loves all his Chinese children. God loves all his Iranian children. God loves all his North Korean children. 

God loves all his Republican children. God loves all his Democrat children. God loves all his Independent children. God loves all his Socialist children. God loves all his Communist children. God loves all his anarchist children. God loves all his terrorist children. 

The trend is clear, and it sounds awful. God loves us, but he also loves them. It seems fair that God should love us, but it seems horrific that God would also love them. And they are fine with God loving them, but they aren’t so happy about God loving us. So nobody’s happy with this.

But What if I Don’t Love All God’s Children?

If I’m honest, I have to admit that I don’t even like all God’s children, much less love them. Some of God’s children are downright horrible. If I had my way, they’d be sent to bed without any dessert. Or worse. 

But I keep coming back to the Jesus story. And in that story, I see a guy who believed with all his heart in this simple message that God loves all his children. I think that’s the main point of the Jesus story. Even if you don’t believe in Jesus. Even if you don’t believe in God. 

Because even if you don’t believe in God, you probably agree that if there was a God, you’d want the kind who loves all his children. Even the ones who are downright horrible. Even me when I’m downright horrible. Even you when you’re downright horrible. 

I see that as the simple message of Jesus. His message is more than that, of course. But it isn’t less.