by Marty Coleman | Nov 30, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
I am crushin’ on the fact I finished 5 fun drawings this week about Secret Jesus. Here’s number 5.
Jesus and Puberty
So now we reach the obvious final question about Jesus’ lost teenage years. Did Jesus ever have a crush, fall in love, have a girlfriend and even perhaps ever marry? The stories of Jesus in the Bible and elsewhere say nothing specific about these things. But I know this: if Jesus was real, meaning a real human, then I assume he went through what humans go through when they reach certain ages. What that means to me is that when Jesus reached puberty and beyond he had the same feelings most other boys have and that is a new found attraction to girls.
Crushing Jesus
If Jesus had a crush and later maybe a girlfriend or two, it is safe to assume he also had break ups. Some might have been his choice, others might have been the choice of the girl. I can hear it now, “I am so sorry Jesus, but there is just TOO MUCH PRESSURE dating the savior of the whole world. I have to break up with you.”
Feeling What We Feel
But seriously, what this means is, once again, Jesus felt what we feel. If he was a real human, then he went through what we go through. Isn’t that why we pay attention to him and his teachings, because we know that he knows and understands?
Do you follow Jesus and his teachings? What caused you to do so?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who follows sometimes.
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 29, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
I am not afraid to tell you, it’s day 4 of Secret Jesus week!
Jesus Takes a Trip
Jesus had to have gone places on his own when he became an older teen. Maybe to visit his relatives, maybe to sell something his father and his shop at created, maybe to get supplies. No doubt new and interesting experiences awaited him on these journeys. There were likely moments of fear and confusion about what to do next as well.
Facing the unknown
One of the most heroic elements about Jesus was his willingness to face his fears head on. He had to have learned that he grew up, don’t you think? Whether it was learning from his parents or learning while out on his own, it’s the same thing we all have been through. We can’t learn if we are curled up into a ball, afraid to move and grow. It might be scary, it might be dangerous, but if it is the path you know you need to go down, then you need to face those things, and you can.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who has faced a few storms.
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 28, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
Don’t get depressed about it, but we are over half way done with Secret Jesus week!
Jesus Funk
Do you think Jesus ever got depressed? We know he struggled quite a bit as an adult, and for good reason. But what about as a teenager? I can imagine him feeling blue, lonely, confused, even depressed about things, like most teens do at one time or another. Maybe he was feeling unappreciated, or misunderstood by his siblings or parents. Maybe everyone else had something important to do for a big holiday but for whatever reason he didn’t and that led to him feeling left out.
Who is Real?
If Jesus is real, if he is capable of complete understanding, complete mercy and compassion, then it isn’t due to his academic genius or his theological brilliance. There were plenty of people high in both those categories during his day. It is due to his empathy, his knowing what it is humans go through. If he didn’t experience it himself, (which in truth it’s likely he didn’t experience every single feeling and emotion ever known to man) then he at least was able to discern and feel it when other people were going through something. And he learned from it. Not just how to be empathetic but how to move past the feeling into a new and better place.
That’s the Jesus I like and relate to. That is the Jesus I admire and want to be more like as I continue to grow.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who is glad he isn’t the Pope.
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 27, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
Don’t blame me but it’s day #2 of Secret Jesus week.
Whose to blame?
This happened in my life, it happened in my kids’ lives. If Jesus is real (see yesterday for what I mean by real) then I think it happened to him as well. What do you think?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who didn’t do it, I swear.
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Jesus trivia answer from yesterday:
Yes, Jesus had 2 sisters (and 4 brothers), as recorded in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 6, verse 3. The book names his brothers but does not give names to his sisters. I think they were named Ruth and Miriam, but were nicknamed Baby Ruth since she was the youngest and Miracle since she was not expected to live. Yes, I made that up.
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 26, 2012 | Christianity - 2011-2013, Secret Jesus - 2012 |
For many years I have thought about all that wasn’t recorded about Jesus’ life, especially the ‘missing years’ from age 12 to age 30 when he started preaching. Here is day 1 of my ‘Secret Jesus’ series in anticipation of Christmas coming up soon.
Jesus’ thumb
Jesus had to be trained as a carpenter, right? It was probably his father, Joseph, who did the training since chances are he himself was a carpenter. I know when my father and grandfather taught me how to work with wood they started with teaching me how to hammer. I hit my thumb plenty of times and I have no doubt Jesus did the same thing.
Two Types of Real
Some don’t believe Jesus was real but the evidence seems to point to that he was. However, there is more than one way to be real. One of the reasons Christianity is messed up is because of the dichotomy within the church. We insist Jesus was real but build a story about him that focuses again and again on how unreal he was.
Seeing as I am pretty earthbound man, I like thinking about who Jesus was on this earth, not his identity in some spiritual realm I don’t really connect with and sometimes am not even sure exists. If he wasn’t a real human; learning and growing, then how do we relate? What are we going to learn about how to be and do in our real world?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
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Jesus Trivia question
Did Jesus have a sister?
Come back tomorrow for the answer
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 19, 2011 | Christianity - 2011-2013, Christmas, Secret Jesus - 2012 |
It’s day #1 of Christmas week at The Napkin Dad Daily!
When I first saw this quote I thought it said, “…if you CAN’T follow in his footsteps.” That fit in well with my feelings about Jesus as a man who taught vs Jesus as a mythic figure who was a God Man who did superhuman miracles. I like Jesus the man, I can follow in some of his footsteps no and then. I don’t have much in common with Jesus the God Man, I can’t follow in his footsteps.
But, the quote actually says, “…if you DON’T follow in his footsteps.” That implies it’s something you could do if you only chose to do it. And to wonder about that question in the first place you have to take Jesus walking on water literally. You have to believe he really did it and, in addition, that he wants you to do it too. That brings the idea to a whole new area of exploration.
So, here are my questions. Do you think that Jesus really did walk on water or no? If he did, then did he really want us to attempt that same thing? And if so, for what purpose? If he didn’t really walk on water, then what does the mythical story represent? What are we suppose to learn and enact from that story?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, being a bad example of a good man since 1976.
Quote by Anonymous. Actually, since it is anonymous I could have changed it to “can’t” and know one would have been the wiser! hmmm…
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