I'd like to begin with what might seem a rather strange question. "Do you really believe in Jesus?" Before you answer that with an indignant, "Of course I do," I want you to think for a moment about what your own mental image of Jesus is like. 

Try to picture his face. Do you see it as hard, coarse, and set with wrinkles? Or do you see it as smooth, fine-featured, and more on the soft side? Try to picture his personality. Do you see Jesus as warm, congenial, and winsome? Or do you picture him as more stern, outspoken, direct, and forceful? Try to picture how he operated. Do you picture him as the kind of person who was up at the crack of dawn to catch the 6:56 express donkey into Jerusalem? Or do you see him as an easy-going itinerant who roamed about the countryside preaching, teaching,…