Title: My Imaginary
Jesus
Author: Matt
Mikalatos
Pages: 288
Year: 2012
Publisher: Barna Books
Note: I received a
complimentary copy from Tyndale for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.
How
would you describe your own spiritual journey to find the real Jesus? What words would you use to describe those
other images or descriptions of Jesus that aren’t real or true? Have you ever suspected that what you believe
about Jesus may not be real or true? In
some ways, this is exactly what Matt has done and tried to convey on the pages
of his book. In other ways, it was hard
to follow until I continued reading.
Matt
does an excellent job of exposing the imaginary
Jesus’ we possibly learned from pictures, Sunday school lessons or perhaps
in church. We don’t realize what
pictures or ideas of who we think Jesus is until something calls it to the forefront. Sometimes it might be a crisis of faith or
living daily. At other times it is in
reading books.
In a
mix of fiction and non-fiction, Matt shares his own journey of shedding the
false for the true. It is truly an
enjoyable book to read. Like
Elijah, Matt shares how to hear God’s voice not in the big ways, but mainly in
the quiet moments. The book in a way
exhorts us to face our own journey in walking with God and learning to hear the
true voice of God so we can be obedient.
There is no room in our heart for the false Jesus’, just the One and
Only Jesus. In a fictional way, Matt
shares how hard it can be to shed the fake images and thoughts in order to
grasp the real and true.
It is
not a hard book to read; it is very easy to read as the chapters are short in
length. Also, the book is written with
adventure and action. It is set in real
time and done is such a way of how life really happens so we can see how Jesus
is not far from us, but right here through thick and thin. There is a challenge for the church as a
whole to truly come together. The Body
of Christ needs to open its’ doors and learn to interact with other members of
the Body. Whatever the race,
nationality, language, or theological differences might be, we all can learn
from each other. Nowhere in the book do
I see Matt place before us the idea that we should allow that which is
unbiblical to enter in.
With
unequaled transparency, Matt shares his heartaches, faults, and failures as
well as trials with triumphs. He shares
his journey with us, including his wife and family and how they are
affected. At the conclusion, we see what
life in the Body might look like if we allow Jesus to fill us and use us and
learn to dwell with those who are “different” than ourselves. This reader learned some ideas of value and some
that aren’t. Overall, it is a good book
to read, enjoy and share with others.
The rating I personally give this book is 3 ½ stars.
