Wednesday
Aug222012
are we making the bible > jesus?
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 9:29AM
something's been bugging me.
it first started when i heard a good-intentioned, well-meaning christian man say something on the radio. he was referring to a pastor who had recently passed away. in describing the man's life, he said "this man studied the bible, lived the bible, and loved the bible." as if to say the bible were the central characteristic that defined the pastor's life.
a bit confused by this, i replied to the man on the radio {in a decently loud shouting voice} "don't you mean jesus? don't you mean he studied, lived and loved jesus?"
at the time, i was stuck in terrible chicago traffic. you can blame the shouting on the traffic. really, you can blame all of life's troubles on traffic.
but, since then i've noticed that a lot of really great christians appear to be placing more value on studying, knowing, and falling in love with the bible than jesus. pastors' sermons, children's curriculum, authors' podcasts -- all seem to have a fascination with the bible. and for good reason. the bible is awesome. and points us towards jesus.
but, the bible is not jesus. jesus is jesus.
and, often these days, i worry we're teaching our children that the bible is jesus.
we have good intentions. heck, i write a biblical literacy curriculum, and we've never once referred to it as a jesus literacy curriculum. our starting place is good -- the bible is unlike any other book. it's special. and divine. and incomparable. and inspired.
but, jesus is greater than the bible.
and, while jesus can be found in the bible, he can also be found in truthful community, and powerful acts of nature, and in connection with his spirit during prayer.
jesus is > than the bible. let's help our children see this. and, let's help them put their full trust and faith in jesus, as they use the bible as a tool towards that goal.
what do you say? do we communicate to our children that the bible is > jesus? and, feel free to shout your replies {especially if you're stuck in traffic}.
it first started when i heard a good-intentioned, well-meaning christian man say something on the radio. he was referring to a pastor who had recently passed away. in describing the man's life, he said "this man studied the bible, lived the bible, and loved the bible." as if to say the bible were the central characteristic that defined the pastor's life.
a bit confused by this, i replied to the man on the radio {in a decently loud shouting voice} "don't you mean jesus? don't you mean he studied, lived and loved jesus?"
at the time, i was stuck in terrible chicago traffic. you can blame the shouting on the traffic. really, you can blame all of life's troubles on traffic.
but, since then i've noticed that a lot of really great christians appear to be placing more value on studying, knowing, and falling in love with the bible than jesus. pastors' sermons, children's curriculum, authors' podcasts -- all seem to have a fascination with the bible. and for good reason. the bible is awesome. and points us towards jesus.
but, the bible is not jesus. jesus is jesus.
and, often these days, i worry we're teaching our children that the bible is jesus.
we have good intentions. heck, i write a biblical literacy curriculum, and we've never once referred to it as a jesus literacy curriculum. our starting place is good -- the bible is unlike any other book. it's special. and divine. and incomparable. and inspired.
but, jesus is greater than the bible.
and, while jesus can be found in the bible, he can also be found in truthful community, and powerful acts of nature, and in connection with his spirit during prayer.
jesus is > than the bible. let's help our children see this. and, let's help them put their full trust and faith in jesus, as they use the bible as a tool towards that goal.
what do you say? do we communicate to our children that the bible is > jesus? and, feel free to shout your replies {especially if you're stuck in traffic}.
Reader Comments (3)
Very excellent thoughts, Amy. You're always stretching my thinking. I don't think an intense passion for God's word is a negative, but I personally don't want to be defined by it. I want people to say, "He loved Jesus like crazy." I want that love to be evident by how much time I spend reading his word, but also by how much time I spent loving people, worshipping, and serving.
At the end of the day, though, I think it is very tough to really love the [whole] Bible and that not impact your world positively. (Of course, as I type this, I'm reminded of the Pharisees love for Scripture, but they didn't have the Gospel of Jesus.)
I do think Seattle has you beat when it comes to traffic...but you do have more tolls in the Chicagoland.
Anyway, I fully agree. However I see this as heart and mind issue. You can love Jesus like no other but know nothing of his love (extreme Christians that hate everything & everyone). Or the other extreme, know Jesus so well that you never show/live in Christ love (extreme theologians). Like many things in life it is a balance; every element from the Bible to worship is meant to point us all to Jesus. Focusing on a single element can develop a lopsided faith. Much like a weightlifter focusing on a single muscle group, can look weird at the end.
Thanks for the thoughts, it is a great reminder to teach the whole faith and not singular element of the faith.
John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (NIV) Jesus IS the Word of God... meaning the Bible. You can't be in "love" with one without being in love with both. While I understand the premise of your argument, I can't support your conclusion. Jesus and the Word of God (the Bible) are synonymous. We learn about and fall in love with Jesus by reading and experiencing His Word.