A Liturgy for Beholding the Freedom of Jesus

Father of Glory,

You have not hidden Yourself from us.

You have made Yourself known
in the face, voice, personality, and life of Jesus.

Open the eyes of my heart.

Teach me to see Jesus as Jesus.

Not smaller.

Not safer.

Not less vibrant than He truly is.

Forgive me for exchanging the Living Christ
for a version I could manage.

Spirit of God,

When a story awakens my imagination with courage, freedom, and joy,
let it become a signpost back to Christ.

Let my heart ask:

What if Jesus is even more beautiful than this?

Lord Jesus,

You carried glory without needing recognition,

authority without insecurity,

power without domination,

truth without cruelty,

holiness without distance,

and love without condition.

No human opinion imprisoned Your heart.

No rejection altered Your identity.

No praise inflated Your soul.

No cross could silence Your love.

Free me from every lesser glory.

From the need to be admired.

From the fear of being forgotten.

From using success, ministry, intelligence, or reputation
to tell me who I am.

Anchor me so deeply in the Father’s delight
that I no longer need people to be mirrors
reassuring me that I matter.

When I open the Gospels,

do not merely give me information.

Give me encounter.

When I see Your miracles, show me Your heart.

When I hear Your words, let me hear Your voice.

When I behold Your glory, reorder my loves.

May Your beauty become more beautiful.

May Your freedom become more captivating.

May Your joy become more contagious.

Until I no longer ask only,

“What would Jesus do?”

but learn, by Your Spirit,

who Jesus is.

And in knowing You,

make me free.

Amen.