Feast on Christ

At the smorgasbord of American Christianity, it's easy to pursue pick-n-choose religion: a lot of this, a little of that. And none of THAT! If you happen to choose poorly, something that doesn't sit just right, you trash the plate and go back for something more appetizing. We want it our way right away or we hit the highway.

Is it any surprise, then, that we so often do the same thing with Jesus? We pursue parts of Christ but avoid others. A lot of sovereignty, no meekness. All service, little grace. We center on parts of Jesus' character and distort the rest. The stuff that doesn't sit well we quickly exchange for gummy-worm Jesus. But a partial Christ is no Christ at all.

Now many of you reading this are thinking about people you know. This reminds you of so and so. But I'm not writing this for them. Do we accept Jesus on his own terms? Do we take Jesus as Scripture reveals him to be? Do we accept all of him? Do we pattern our steps after his? The likely answer is no, or at best, sort-of.

Our approach to the Bible is too often the same: pick-n-choose. Willful ignorance. Deliberate avoidance. Plucked from context. Why is truth so appetizing on the one hand yet so hard to stomach on the other?

But where do we start? If we want to follow Jesus, we need to know what he said. All of it. And not just know it but believe it. The gospels are a good place to start. But don't stop there. The whole Bible speaks of Jesus (Luke 24:27, 44). Acquaint yourselves with the sacred writings "which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15) and sufficient for everything that follows in the Christian life (2 Tim 3:16).

So add the kale of Nahum and the Brussel sprouts of Zephaniah to your diet. Forage through Numbers and Chronicles. The book of Kings shows the blessing or cursing that comes with listening to or neglecting God's word. Scripture forces us to eat our vegetables of theology in order to serve up a well-rounded, accurate picture of Jesus, in whom wrath and grace, meekness and boldness, grace and gravitas meet.

May the whole of Scripture be our perpetual springboard to knowing Christ more and more. And may it always be shaping us more in his image. To feast on the word is to feast on Christ.