Jesus is a clown!

Does this title sound a little too weird to you? Well, at least I've got your attention.

A while ago I was at a children's party and what would a good children's party be without a clown. A guy in wide pants, oversized shoes, make-up all over his face, curly orange hair and of course the big old red nose. You get the picture.

The funny thing was that the clown was someone the children knew (at least some of them did). To the 'older' kids it was just a clown, but for the young ones (about 2 or 3) it was a scary sight.
There was definately some attraction, but only from a distance. As long as the clown didn't look at them it was okay. When he payed them any attention or when he came to close, they turned their heads and almost started to cry.
Only little by little they began to recognize him. He showed himself without the wig and without the nose, and they started to see who he really was. Not right away, but slowly.
Later in the afternoon it went better and they found out that the clown was a nice clown. He had sweets and could do tricks.

Now, I don't say that Jesus wears a funny suit, orange hair and a big red nose. But isn't it the same with us as it was with these kids: we know who he is and we are attracted to him, but there is still so much we don't understand. We can't seem to get who he really is, there's something in between. And it scares us off. When he turns to us and wants to make contact we tend to shy away and don't want to show ourselves.

As with the kids, it takes time and effort and most of all trust to learn to see the real Jesus. But in the end, it's so worth it. If the clown had sweets and could do tricks, what is it that Jesus has for us?!