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The following was written by an eight year old 8, for his 3rd-grade homework assignment to "Explain God."

"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.

He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk, He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime.

God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in our town. At least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him.

But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK.

His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore, He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary only more important."

Well that’s an eight year old perception of who God and Jesus are and what they are like. We sit here smiling and laughing at this description of God and Jesus, but the reality is that many children, teenagers, and adults have a totally misconstrued perception of Jesus.

In today’s Scripture, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Perhaps he seeks feedback to see whether he is getting his message across.

They answer: "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Had there been tabloid newspapers sold at the checkout counters of ancient Israel, they might have headlined, "JESUS IS JOHN, ELIJAH, OR JEREMIAH REBORN!!!"

John was Jesus’ contemporary cousin. Elijah was the archetype of wonder-working prophets. Jeremiah we know as "the most Christlike of the prophets." Did the people believe in reincarnation? Or in a return from the dead?

Jesus tests public opinion. "Who do people say…?"

Peter’s answer, and ours, to the puzzle of Jesus’ identity is, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, the head of dominion in whom is full salvation and access to God. He comes from the Creator God, is one with him, reveals his purpose, and leads humanity back to him. He is what God intends humankind to become.

Jesus is about love and reconciliation. He’s about taking broken lives and putting them back together again.

Jesus is about everything that is good and pure.

Matthew Shephard, the University of Wyoming student who was killed last October was buried by his home church in Casper, Wyoming. He was murdered because of the way in which he had chosen to live out his life. While the 650 mourners attended, a crowd was gathered behind police barricades across the street.

In the crowd was Rev. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka Kansas along with a group of his church members carrying a sign saying:

"God Hates Fags!"

Perhaps more frightening than the sign itself were the twisted faces of angry, hateful people who called themselves Christian as they reviled Shephard and anyone who grieved for him. The signature of their faces said: "I am 100%, without a doubt, certain that God is on our side!"

While it amazes me how man can take something as pure and powerful as the love of God and the personality of Jesus and pollute it with hatred, I am even more amazed by the mass of people throughout the world who choose to believe in that kind of a corrupted and twisted message.

God hates? God HATES??? Listen to me very carefully this morning and make certain you understand what I am about to say. While some people choose to live a lifestyle that is displeasing in the eyes of God, while it is true that God abhors the sin - God always - ALWAYS loves the sinner. Some portray Jesus as a judgmental, power stricken ogre who stands over us with a great big club saying "Get right or die!"

The Jesus I read about, the Jesus I have experienced, the Jesus who is the Savior of my life isn’t that way at all. Instead of standing over us with a club He stands before us with out stretched arms. In the palm of His hands are nail prints. He stands there holding out His hands for us to see saying:

"I love you. I did this all for you."

Jesus looks at you and I as He did the disciples that day and says:

"Who do YOU say I am?"

Jesus is not someone that is easily defined. All definitions come down to words about words, until one points at the thing or being signified. We point to Jesus himself, in his own person, work, life, and death, as the definition of the word Messiah or Christ, even as he is also the eikon, the image of God. The very word define, "to mark limits," can never fit the limitless Jesus.

Rather than delimit, we can only experience which leads to expanding our understanding of who He is.

It is his name: Jesus who is the Christ. As Jesus and his life define the word Christ, so our lives point to our understanding of who He is.

As I was preparing this message I had the radio playing in the background. If you ever walk in my study you will probably hear the radio. The music I listen to happens to be classical music which I find to be very relaxing. On this particular day there was a disruption in the regular programming. A counselor was interviewing a mother and her child. The child was a very angry eleven year old who regularly cursed her mother. During the interview the child began to cry. While she was crying the interviewer asked her if she knew why she was crying. The child responded by saying she wanted her mother to hug her and she never does. The mother proceeded to tell the interviewer that her family didn’t do those things and she just wasn’t a hugging person.

Jesus is a hugging person. If you here nothing else I say this morning you hear this - Jesus loves YOU. There is no one in this world who can love you as much as Jesus. Jesus Loves YOU. "Jesus loves me this I know. . ." But do you? Do you know that Jesus is someone who loves you. "For the Bible tells me so. . ." But do you believe it? Can you feel it? Do you feel it this morning? Are you right now where you are sitting experiencing the love of Jesus? Come on sing it with me and as you sing it experience Jesus! Experience His Love for You. Who is the Real Jesus? Someone who loves us far more than we will ever understand.

Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong.

Yes Jesus Loves me
Yes Jesus Loves me
Yes Jesus Loves me
The Bible tells me so.

Amen.

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