Jesus is dirty.

from the ashes of my journal...

"there is no way God has allowed for me to walk thru the hell i have walked thru and He not have an amazing, earth-shattering purpose for me, both in the midst of it and on the other side of it.  the purpose in the midst of it may even be more important than what comes after it. on the other side."

We see and picture God ... hang on.  Before i go any further.  take about 10 seconds or so and just think about what God looks like to you. and hold it in your mind.  what is the very first image you see?  what does he look like?  what is he wearing?  what does his face look like?  what do his hands and feet look like? you got it?  ok, don't forget it.

now...we see and picture God or Jesus (i am speculating) as maybe a neat freak.  Pristine white and perfectly clean.  I guess I see him as a mechanic.  Their hands are always greasy, grimy, dirt and oil all up under their nails.  Sleeves rolled up, work pants and steel-toed boots.  Pen behind their ear, smudges go grease and dirt and oil rubbed into the pores of their face.  Smudges of grime on work orders, each with its own list of diagnoses and remedies.

Jesus isn't clean.  Jesus ... is dirty.  Jesus isn't clean on the outside, but he wears robes of righteousness.

Jesus wears robes of grime.
Jesus wears robes of grease.
Jesus doesn't have smooth hands, He has holes in them, no doubt calloused from the hard nails that were driven thru them.
Jesus doesn't have manicured nails. He has dirt and grime up underneath them.

To me, Jesus doesn't wear robes.
To me, Jesus wears dirty carpenter jeans, work boots, a pen behind his ear.
Face of gentle tenderness, greased over with oil and dirt.

Jesus is a dirty mechanic.