students of jesus

Trends come and go, but spiritual formation is the Jesus-way of crafting our souls so we become conformed to his image. I have almost no concern for discussions about big ideas unless those ideas impair our ability to follow Jesus. Rarely does a current popular trend intersect with the more important work of personal spiritual formation, but I think I’ve seen one such trend beginning to take root in the past few years. 

Here’s the good part: in recent years we have become aware of our tendency to confuse our understanding of scripture with the God of scripture. The Bible becomes our god. Of course, no one would do so outright, but it is so much easier to relate to a book than a living person: the first one requires academic smarts, the second requires love. The encouraging recent trend is that we began to approach the scriptures with a greater humility as we realized our understanding of the scripture is not the same thing as the “Truth.”

So far so good. This change opened up greater relationship with Jesus and a deeper respect for scripture, especially the gospels. We began to see that the role of scripture is to lead us to the Lord’s feet. It was a needed correction, but the pendulum didn’t stop swinging, it kept going.

Here’s the dangerous part: I think we’re beginning to elevate our personal ideas about Jesus above what the scriptures reveal. Like the family gathered around Ricky-Bobby’s dinner table, we all have our own notions about Jesus: baby Jesus, T-Shirt Jesus, or Ninja Jesus:

“I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T-Shirt because it says I want to be formal, but I'm here to party.” ~ Cal Naughton, Jr.

Silly? Yes, but no more silly than elevating the gospels above the rest of scripture.

For decades we erred by worshiping the Bible--and our understanding of it--instead of Jesus. Today the pendulum is in full swing and it’s swinging beyond the center: it's become popular to say we “worship Jesus but not the Bible” even while we are in great danger of missing the Bible's revelation of Jesus.

The hard, rewarding work ahead: How can we say we embrace the Jesus of the gospels but then diminish the Old Testament—when our Lord himself embraced the whole book? Those of us who trumpet revelation of Jesus found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John must embrace the words of our Lord:

• Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. If you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. ~ Matthew 5:17-19
• It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. ~ Luke 16:17
• . . . the Scripture cannot be broken . . . ~ John 10:35

The hard work of following Jesus is to discover how Word became flesh: how Jesus fulfilled and embodied all the Spirit had spoken before him. Throwing away the Old Testament doesn’t help—it hinders. Imagine the life-giving conversations possible if we agree that Jesus is our guide to understanding the Old Testament. But no, it’s easier to simply dismiss 2,000 years of revelation.

The life-giving way: The Old Testament shaped Jesus for thirty years. Then, for three years, he embodied it as our example. Let's learn from him how to read the Law. To read the gospels without welcoming the scripture that came before him is to open us up to the idolatry of our own understanding. The Father who shared a meal with Abraham is the same Father who sent his son to fulfill the promises made to Abraham. As the pendulum swings too far, I think we have subtly embraced the idea that 2,000 years of God’s history with Israel was a failed project, and Jesus is somehow the Father’s Plan B.

Are we willing to hear everything the Spirit has spoken? Where would you start, and how would you do it?