M-G: 7.23.12 // The Jesus Puzzle

Have you ever put a jigsaw puzzle together only to find a piece missing? I once tackled a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, with some help, of a beautiful mountainous scene only to discover that one of the pieces was missing. On one occasion I can remember even winding up with an extra piece on another puzzle which is far easier to take than being short one piece of a puzzle in the end.

As followers of Christ, we are in the world but not of the world; if this seems puzzling it shouldn’t be. No matter how we pattern our life to fit some kind of puzzle scene or build an image by our puzzle pieces (career, looks, etc.) to fit into a scene that is out of the boundaries of God’s will is enmity with God (Rom 8:7; Jas 4:4). To the world a believer trying to “fit” into a worldly landscape is like trying to put a puzzle piece into a slot that doesn’t belong there.

There is so much cultural pressure to “fit in” with the scenery of the now. Many believers succumb to the temptation to blend in perhaps out of fear of being ostracized or being labeled as different or “weird” and treated differently. What would the neighbors, colleagues, or superiors think if our values were different? But why would any believer want to be a part of any puzzle scene, no matter how beautiful and pleasurable it is on the surface, that is temporary in nature and passing away (2 Pet 3:10)? 

The alternative for the believer is the Jesus puzzle. The Jesus puzzle is God's will for every believer, a personal scenery of Christ-likeness in the world, where the believer, rather than putting all the different pieces of his or her life into making a worldly image, places them into an image reflecting Christ or Christ-likeness according to the teaching of Scripture (Eph 4:15; Col 1:10; 2 Pet 3:18). Every thought, attitude, and behavior conform to the image of the Jesus puzzle in full view of the world (Mt 5:16). 

Any piece that is missing from the puzzle will stick out like a sore thumb until it is included in the picture. This is a puzzle in progress to be sure, but as more pieces are placed within the Jesus puzzle, the more the world will see Christ in us and through us (2 Cor 4:6; Col 3:10). Christ will never settle for anything less than all of the pieces of our life are in conformity to His Word since His will is always in agreement with the Scripture. 

Developing into the beautiful image of Christ on the Jesus puzzle (Christlikeness) is truly a work of art by the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) if we only allow Him to do His work in us (Gal 5:16, 25; Eph 5:18). Only in the Jesus puzzle do we honor the Son and glorify the Father (Jn 5:23), and our image becomes a work of art for all eternity. All other puzzle images will fade away (2 Pet 3:12). Knowing this, which puzzle do you want to work on that reveals what your life's about: Christlikeness or another persona? <><