“Jesus is____” Will Help You Reveal The Character of Jesus

Jesus is the foundation of Christianity, thus presenting all the core values Christianity relies on. Judah Smith from Seattle, is a pastor and a famous  speaker at conferences and churches, whose messages are humorous and poignant and easily demystify the Bible, showing who Jesus is in people's everyday life. His book “Jesus is___” has quickly become very popular among the christian population, as ti inspires people to say what Jesus is to them.

Despite the theological topic, “Jesus is___” is a rather educational book. The subtitle is “ Finding a new way to become human” , which alternatively directs people into thinking what can they do to be better than yesterday. It's inspired by the “ Jesus is___” campaign in Seattle, whose main purpose was to make people think more about Jesus, to analyze what Jesus is to them, what Christianity does for their lives. The book has 6 chapters, and all of them are titled Jesus is___, followed by : is your friend, is the point, is grace, is here, is happy and is alive. Through all of these chapters, Smith tries to show people that Jesus is a character you can easily relate to.

Christianity 's main point of teaching is that love is the most powerful force in existence. The Bible especially emphasizes this, through  the metaphorical turning the other cheek when you get slammed, or, love you enemy.  In this direction, the book illustrates Jesus as grace and love, rather than a Biblical concept, which is a difference especially important for new believers to understand. Through the book Smith uses personal stories and examples from the Bible to illustrate his overall point. Although it might serve only as introduction to Christianity, “Jesus is___” presents new perspectives, and  shows how accepting that Jesus is grace, can result in developing a connection with him, really understand his teaching and accept his philosophy as a cornerstone of one's life.

Critics have pointed out a few issues with the book's content, such as the treatment of sin, or the effort of the author to be culturally relevant. Regardless, the book is good  for new believers, for lifelong followers, and for the merely curious, but still,  a book for certain time.