A Brilliant and Beautiful Christ

Welcome to my first ever blog! Why add to the cacophony that has now become the worldwide web? Why add my voice to all the competing voices, websites, newsfeeds, and twitter posts that have become so common in our world today?

Two reasons.

First, I need to be reminded, daily, of my greatest need—which is the gospel—and of Jesus, who stands at the center of the great story of God and my own story. I desire to consider, savor, point to, run for, hope in, and worship Jesus Christ. Writing this blog, cultivating the habit of thinking about all of reality through the lens of all that Jesus is and all that he has done on my behalf will help to that end.

Second, I want to suggest to you, the reader, that God is better than you think. Yes, Jesus is our creator. Yes, Jesus is our sustainer. But the really beautiful thing is that he also pursues us. He pursues us when we run. He woos us through our longings. He calls us home—to be with him and to experience life as it was meant to be.  He entered history, walked among us, died on a cross and rose from the dead. Why? So that you and I could find forgiveness for sins and a way “home.”

This is a picture of a beautiful Christ.

But, Jesus is also brilliant.

In Colossians 2:3 we learn that it is in Jesus that “all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” As Creator of all things, it follows that all things known (that is, all truths we discover) somehow illuminate the divine. Jesus doesn’t just possess moral authority over our lives; he possesses intellectual authority as well. Thus, we find in the person of Christ the highest impetus to think, to cultivate a robust life of the mind, and to make connections between the “book” of nature and the great story of God as articulated in the “book” of Scripture.

God has called us to be whole. To live lives firmly rooted in reality. To rightly order our loves, our passions, our desires, our values, our emotions, and our beliefs. And the only way we can find such wholeness is to enter a relationship with Jesus and then follow him.

So, here is the plan. As I read, write, speak, and teach, I’ll be posting thoughts on this blog that help to point us to a brilliant and beautiful Christ. I’ll shoot for blog entries once a week although I can’t promise that. I welcome your comments and encourage discussion. After all, what fun is the journey if we can’t do it together?

Paul