2026.03.01 | I’ve Been Around Jesus My Whole Life, But My Picture of Him Was Too Small

’ve been around Jesus my whole life.

I grew up in church, Sunday school, youth group, camps, the whole thing. I could quote verses, sing the songs, and give you the “right” answers about the gospel. If you’d asked, “Is Jesus your Savior and King?” I would have said yes without hesitation.
But somewhere in the middle of raising kids, managing schedules, and just trying to make it through the week, I realized something: I believed in Jesus, but my picture of Him was still too small.

Not wrong. Just too small.

It showed up first in how I treated Him as Savior. My prayers were constantly, “Jesus, fix this.”  

Fix this situation with my kids.  
Fix this tension in my marriage.  
Fix this financial stress.  
Fix this anxiety I can’t shake.

Again, none of that is wrong. He cares deeply about all of it. But most days, that was almost all I talked to Him about.

Then listening to Matthew 21 again, the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem. The crowd is shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” I’d heard that a hundred times, but this time I paid attention to what “Hosanna” means: “save us now.”

They wanted rescue from Rome. I realized I mostly wanted rescue from my current pressures.

Meanwhile, Jesus was entering the city on Lamb Selection Day, the day families chose their Passover lambs. He wasn’t coming mainly to rearrange their circumstances. He was coming as the Lamb of God, to deal with sin and death.
I knew that in theory. But in practice, the cross had become the doorway I walked through a long time ago, while the “real” thing I cared about was whether He would make my week easier.

A hard question came to mind:  If Jesus never changed this situation I keep begging Him to fix, would I still call Him a good Savior?

I’m learning to let His bigger salvation reshape my smaller expectations. I still ask Him to help, but more and more I’m praying, “Jesus, thank You for saving me from sin and death, not just hard situations. Help me remember that what You’ve already done for me is bigger than what I’m asking You to do right now.”

The other place my small view showed up was in how I treated Him as King.
I would say, “Jesus is Lord,” and mean it. But when I look at how I actually make decisions, about my time, my phone, my words, my habits, it often looks like He’s more of a trusted advisor.

When His Word lined up with what I already wanted, I obeyed quickly. When it didn’t, especially in areas like forgiveness, how I talk about people, how I use my free time, what I do with my worries, I stalled, rationalized, or quietly ignored it.
In Matthew 21, the crowd treats Jesus like a king for a moment. Cloaks on the road, branches waving, loud praise. But when He doesn’t act like the kind of king they want, many of those voices go quiet.

I see myself in that.

I wanted a King who comforted me, but hesitated when He claimed authority over my schedule, my money, my relationships, my fears. There were areas of my life with an invisible sign: “Jesus, you can advise here, but I’ll decide.”

What’s changed me most is seeing *how* He comes as King.

He doesn’t storm in on a war horse, demanding tribute. He rides in on a young donkey, knowing He’s on His way to a cross. He’s not a distant ruler waiting for me to get it together; He’s a humble King who comes near, even into the chaos of my home and my heart.

That doesn’t make His authority lighter. It makes it safer to surrender to.
So I’m slowly learning to ask, “Jesus, is there any area where I’ve kept You as advisor instead of King?” And when something comes to mind, instead of just feeling guilty, I’m trying to open my hands and say, “You get this too.”

It’s not dramatic. It looks like small, everyday choices: putting my phone down to pray instead of numbing out, apologizing when I’d rather defend myself, letting go of a grudge, trusting Him with a fear about my kids’ future I keep replaying in my head.
I still get it wrong all the time. I still slip back into “fix this” prayers and “I’ll handle this part” attitudes. But Matthew 21 keeps lifting my eyes: He really is more than a problem-solver and more than an advisor.

He is my Savior, who has already dealt with my deepest need.  
He is my Champion, who has gone before me and defeated death.  
He is my King, who gently but firmly claims every part of my life.
And strangely, the bigger He becomes in my mind and heart, the less heavy everything else feels.

Reflection Questions:
1. In your prayers lately, have you mostly been asking Jesus to “fix things,” or have you also been thanking Him for what He’s already done for you as Savior?  
2. Is there any area of your life where, if you’re honest, Jesus has been more of an advisor than a King?

If this resonates with you and you want to see Jesus more clearly as Savior, Champion, and King, take some time to watch the full sermon from Matthew 21 on our YouTube channel.