Personality tests are fun. They may not reveal the most necessary information, like the number of Oreo cookies packaged in a standard-sized Oreo cookie bag, when a certain preached about dog will make another Sunday evening trip to the 24/7 vet hospital following what could be yet another porcupine skirmish, or something that piques the curiosity of all: how many pounds of sugar go into the making of all the fudge sold by the Willing Workers at the Log Cabin. (The answer is 63-tons. What, a preacher would lie?)

If not necessary information, personality tests do provide interesting information.  If you're a slob, for example, and don't consider detail a high-end priority, then career fields like 'astronaut' or 'CIA agent' may not be the best match for you. Conversely, if you're a somewhat shy, reversed person who would rather follow than lead, the now available counseling position at Crocodile Dan's Adventure Academy for wayward boys and girls may not be the direction in which you'd like to go. Additionally, mechanically-minded people may want to steer away from a floral arranging class, whereas the adventurous and free-spirited among us may want to opt out of a snail racing seminar entitled: secrets of the slug.

Yes, personality tests are fun for the info they provide. That and, truthfully, they're on the good side of life because, hello, we all know we cannot fail them.

Speaking of tests, here's a question. What would we learn about our Savior and ourselves if Jesus had taken a personality test?  The very popular Meyers-Briggs personality assessment test, used in careers like ministry, provides important feedback. This is not just for ministers who may or may not quite accurately speak the truth about the amount of sugar that goes into the fudge at the fair thing; this is helpful for us all. It's important to know how you respond in certain situations. Specifically, it's good to know and name your personality's strengths and weaknesses, and to identify your trigger points.

Several free personality tests are available online. In perusing or completing the fill-in-the-dot answer sheet by creating geometric shapes and smiley faces, I did wonder, what does Jesus' personality reveal about the Son of God?

Now think about this. Enable our scripture to help. In other places in the Bible, we are told that Jesus was a modest man of little means. When entering the city of Jerusalem for the Passover, as we remember, he didn't even own his own donkey. So, material possessions did not matter.  In fact, he preached not on things of this world, but the next. Even in this passage today, the one who spoke candidly and perhaps cryptically could tick people off. In our lesson today, Jesus alludes to more than what we see and have available to us in our everyday lives.

But what was Jesus like? The Lamb of God was soft-spoken and diminutive? Maybe sometimes. Jesus, as we've sung in our first hymn, has the sweetest name, and a favorite hymn tells us that we have a friend in Jesus, but in his life, did an unarguably type-A guy always offer a soft shoulder? And, for those who could stand, did he ask them to just get up on their feet, or did he command them to get up on their feet and follow him?

From our lesson this morning, we infer this: Jesus was both a self-effacing motivator and educator. Remember from last week that he fed 5,000. He inspired a multitude of people and yet even he needed to get away. That retreat may have been to educate the people even further on who he is and clearly what he asks of us, but in light of the personality tests we've been talking about, an interesting one to consider is this: was Jesus, while on earth, an introvert, or extrovert?

We could debate this for hours and still wrestle to find a clear answer. He liked the crowds, yet needed to retreat from them. The wise among us will probably say that Jesus, like us, had characteristics of being both openly public, and deeply private.

To varying degrees, we are all openly public and deeply private. Some of us have a niche far closer to one end of the introvert/extrovert spectrum than another, but no matter where we are between outgoing and comfortably quiet—and it's a sliding scale that changes a bit day by day—consider and employ the advantages to being both introvert and extrovert when you hear the following scripture verse for the second time this morning. It's the latter half of verse 27. Please read aloud from your scripture sheet the second half of verse 27. It begins with spend your energy. Ready? Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.

That's right, whether you're more wild and crazy, impulsive and fast-thinking, or you're more measured and deliberate, reserved and analytical, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that Jesus Christ can give you by naming and claiming tendencies as both an introvert and an extravert. Here's what I mean. Explore the value in being both a private person with conviction in Christ, and, in the same intentional measure, find conviction in Christ as a public person.

To a certain extent, we all do this anyway. We have both a personal and a public prayer life. We gain God experiences both alone and in groups, particularly when we gather in church. Today and into your week ahead, I invite you to be more deliberate in your private practice. Regardless of whether or not your personality test reveals you to be gregarious or quiet, explore both options more fully than you have before.

For example, adapt something new to your one-on-one prayer life. Try prayer during a different time of the day, or repeat a verse of scripture or lyrics from a hymn again and again, creating a mantra. Another idea is to pray just one, two or three words. Still another, in your alone or solace time with God is to pray for someone you don't know. An example of this is to pray for someone passing you in the shopping mall or sidewalk, or along a stretch of interstate-81. We've all made eye contact with another driver while traveling a two or more lane road. Have you ever prayed for that person?

When it comes to an outgoing or public face in spending your energy to seek the eternal life that the son of man can give you, what ministry will you do between here and the door? Some of us are shy, or are energized not in a group but alone. New approaches may not be easy, or talking to someone we don't ordinarily say hello to may seem awkward at first, but when we take a wholehearted look at verse twenty-nine, the work we have to do is not to muster the courage to talk with someone new, talk with someone we may not know well, or even talk to with someone we may not always agree with or maybe even like, but our Savior is clear: we are to believe in the one he has sent. Let that belief or conviction allow you to reach out. When we believe in the one God has sent, and true belief in the one God sent enables us to pitch our own idea or agenda and let our beliefs—not our biases—then our community of faith grows.

One mark of a healthy church, as I've shared before, is its fellowship. It's one based on the strength and conviction of its members like those here in number who, at the end of a service, gather, share, laugh, confide, support, and grow in understanding and in Christian love for one another for we see God in one another. The mark of a healthy church is touch—both literally and metaphorically—where hands lock in embrace and hearts meld in truth, care and compassion.

And it's here.

Here's a true story about this church, and someone who embraces the cares and the compassion, and the ideals of fellowship and faith in this church. It's a story that illustrates perfectly what Jesus commands us to do: spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.

This true story was sent to me this past week from a well-respected, thoughtful person here. This individual, in his or her email to me, felt compelled enough by what he or she saw that they wanted to let me know that during a recent meeting—one centered deliberately on the physical and the spiritual growth of this church—a lot of good and positive energy was shared. The writer of this email also wanted to share this.

"Anyway," this thoughtful person writes, "as I was driving home, I noticed that a fellow committee member was following me and I thought to myself, 'Why is this person driving my way?' Then I figured it out. This person hasn't even picked up their kids yet and is on the way to get them. Maybe this person hasn't even been home yet tonight. Maybe this person did not have time to eat dinner, etc, etc, but this person was at the church for our meeting!"

The email continues. "Got to thinking that it isn't easy and takes sacrifice for our church.  I do not think the "older" generation always realizes these things." The email diverges there, but backing up a second, the author (let's call him Seamus, though that certainly isn't his name), is right: the older generation here doesn't always realize these things. Sad, isn't it? Equally sad is that the "younger" generation here doesn't always realize how much the senior set continues to do for the life and wellbeing of this church.  Instead of polarizing camps like what we've done to some extent with introverts and extroverts, let's focus on what we should, and that's scripture. Specifically, it's that command we're not only becoming more familiar, but are also being charged with in verse 27: Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.

In your quiet and in your social times, and again, be deliberate in both, spend your energy—or sincerely give of yourself—to the life beyond this life. Give what you have so that God, through Jesus and the ever-present Holy Spirit, can give back to you, and you will get back life.

This message from Jesus isn't just for all of us. This spending your energy is for all who can do tasks for the kingdom, tasks like sending cards, emails, and checking in on the people in the pews right around where you are. This spending our energy means listening when people speak, not simply responding when it's your volley in a two-way conversation. This spending our energy means we have to toss out old, curmudgeon-like responses that, if we're truthful, do slow down the life of this church and its ministry with Christ Jesus. This spending our energy means we go out—and we grow out—of places where we've been like those in our scripture this morning who follow Jesus.

We spoke of Seamus earlier. Now let's hear from Sara. Like Seamus, Sara isn't her real name, but nearly everyone has seen her here because she's so involved in our church. And, in speaking with her many times, she has this message. Spend your energy. Honestly, and these are her words here which, as a follower, parallel Jesus': get involved. Attitudes or mindsets of "I've already done that" or "It's someone else's turn to do this" are words wasted on her because she holds dearly and lives for what our Savior asks, and that's to live for the kingdom. Maybe you already have done that, and maybe it is someone else's turn to do this.

Then again, maybe it isn't. Both outwardly and inwardly, live for the life that God invites you to have.