For some, Jesus serves as the welcoming facade of the Christian faith. Maybe we first encountered him in Sunday school or felt his impact during an Alpha course. He's like the enticing storefront that draws us deeper into the complex world of Christian theology. Jesus exudes kindness, compassion, and love—He draws us in.
But as time passes, we venture beyond the surface and stumble upon less appealing aspects. We confront the unsettling elements: violent depictions of God in the Old Testament, commands to 'kill every man, woman, and child,' or the idea of a meticulously sovereign God who orchestrates all events in including all violence and evil. We initially embraced Christianity through Jesus, but now we're faced with a God who at times doesn’t look like him.
It's disconcerting, at times disturbing. We might even feel deceived. We sought solace in Christ, only to step back from our intimacy with God because he doesn't always reflect Jesus. Is God sometimes like Jesus but at other times a moral monster? The storefront may have concealed the violence, but now it's in plain sight. We're forced to grapple with it because God's word is God's word. We can't cherry-pick. We can't have Jesus without also acknowledging the parts of our theology that don't quite align with him.
Yet, here's the crux of the matter: Jesus isn't just a storefront; he's the living image of the invisible God- ‘The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being’ Heb 1:3
Any portrayal of God that diverges from what we see in Jesus is to be dismissed as erroneous. He is our compass, guide, and the beginning and end of Christian faith. In him is found the litmus test of orthodoxy, he is the Word of God. He isn’t the shop front, he is the centre.
As Archbishop Ramsey aptly put it, 'God is Christlike, and in him, there is no un-Christlikeness at all.'
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