RNS’ Jonathan Merritt asks, “Is the God who created us better than the God we’ve created?” – Image courtesy of Jonathan Merritt
Is the God who created us better than the God we’ve created?
This is the question I explore in my new book, “Jesus is Better Than You Imagined.”
Cover image courtesy of Faithwords
After following Jesus for nearly two decades, my faith had become dry, predictable, and rote. In a moment of desperation, I cried out for God to show up and surprise me, and over the next year, God didn’t disappoint. This book tells vulnerable stories of the places and spaces I encountered God, where I learned to encounter Jesus in unexpected ways.
Through a 60-hour vow of silence in a desert monastery, I experienced Jesus in silence. When a friend died of a rare disease, I see Jesus in tragedy. Through confronting questions about my sexuality, I discovered Jesus in honesty. In an anti-Christian-themed bar, I found Jesus in sacrilege. And when I was almost kidnapped in Haiti by armed bandits, I experienced Jesus in the impossible.
These experiences forced me back to the Bible, where I begin to see familiar passages with fresh eyes. The journey helps me throw back the covers on the sleepy faith many Christians like myself often practice and reveals how we can all begin to search for the Holy in our midst. My hope is to help you open your heart to a mysterious God and a faith that sustains, guides, and most importantly, surprises.
If you think Jesus is better than you’ve imagined, I invite you to join me in discovering the messy mercy and crazy grace of a sometimes startling Savior.