the Jesus glow - is it truly just Jesus?
Disclaimer: this is not a judgement, merely a commentary.
told Him, oh, so holy, the day i found out about paradise
His blood, still coats me, i've never known fresh clean white
i thought, they owed me, for all the times when i was right
the devil owned me, till i let my Saviour fight
but, oh, so holy, that's all i see when i look outside
lost, and lonely, that's all i see when i look inside.
— katherine, 15/03/25
A month and a half ago, I had the worst panic attack of my life.
A month and a week ago, Jesus delivered me from the spirits tormenting me for years.
Two weeks ago, God re-opened a part of my life I thought was over forever.
All the while, my relationship with Christ experienced growing pains as it grew from fading away to bringing me joy to being tested in the worst way it possibly could be, and coming out triumphant. But the whole time this was happening, I saw Christian women on social media. Oh, so holy. They’d wake up early to read their Bibles and have those pretty square highlighters and find the perfectly modest outfits we all yearn to have on our Pinterest boards. The single ones talked about waiting on God’s timing and finding peace building a relationship with Him - while simultaneously having every part of their life so in check that they only cry about not having someone to love when the time is just right. The married ones went on podcasts with their husbands and shared photos of their new happy family.
But what about their audience? Like it or not, there’s a Christian renaissance going on, and it’s mostly among Gen-Z (1996-2010). The youngest of us are freshmen in high school right now (Year 10 in the UK) and depending on where we live, are experiencing persecution and abandonment from those around us for choosing to follow Christ. The oldest of us are in our twenties, struggling to get our lives together and resist the temptation all around us. It’s simply not realistic to see those girls on Instagram sharing their cute photos of them with their Bibles, claiming that Jesus is the only source of their joy. The thing is, Jesus can bring us peace through hard times, but it doesn’t mean hard times don’t have an effect on us. These girls often have a stable source of income, a strong Church community, close friends also following Christ, and have been in a relationship with Him for years. In contrast, many of us are new converts who are isolated from conventional Christian community, and have traded off friends for Christ. Some live under unbelievers’ roofs, and are truly alone in their walk with God. When they see all these believers who seem to have that perfect glow in their eyes, that perfectly God-centred life, and practically zero opportunities to fall into sin, they feel lost, alone and inadequate.
We’re constantly talking about making social media real, but I believe the Christian side of it needs that too. Some creators, such as Realism (realism_official on YouTube and TikTok) put it at the centre of their identity, but for women, the pickings are slimmer. I think it’s time for us to show each other that we’re not all holy. All of us fall into sin. And if we strive to spread the message of forgiveness and support, more people will ultimately come and stay with Christ than if you show your own perfect life and then claim your happiness is all by Jesus.
It’s easy to say that all you need is Him, and I don’t doubt that you mean it. However, I think it’s time to show what you need Jesus for - other than supplying you with a life of blessings and abundance. For some of us, that life doesn’t come so quickly; trial through fire is the only way out of the deep pit Satan has dragged us into. And for that Christian, the one who’s lonely and ashamed of their loneliness, dissatisfied and ashamed of their dissatisfaction, and most of all ashamed and ashamed of their shame… you deserve someone who shows that part of their life too.
Because that’s going to be every single one of us at some point, whether you like it or not.