As most of you know, I am a Jesus Christ Superstar nerd.  I’ve seen it way too many times and attribute the rock opera as a part of my becoming a Christ follower.

This summer, a new production of Superstar was performed at the Hollywood Bowl, and the actor cast to play Jesus was Cynthia Erivo.  There is no doubt that she is an incredibly talented performer, but really? Jesus of Nazareth portrayed as a woman?

Now, I know that through the years there have been liberties taken with Jesus’ race and nationality. He was a Jewish man from the Middle East, so chances are he probably didn’t have light brown hair and blue eyes. But there has never been a question about his gender. That has never been questioned or debated by biblical or secular accounts.

Society would never think of portraying Julius Caesar as anything but a male or Joan of Arc as anything but a female, but apparently, it’s alright to recreate the Son of God in our own image.

As one commentator wrote, “Christ is not ours to reshape, but rather ours to proclaim.”

The challenge is to follow Christ as he truly is—not as who we’d prefer him to be.

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.