Tenchi
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Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Jesus is not your buddy. Oh, he loves you dearly, of course, setting aside his heavenly glory, enduring deep humiliation in becoming human, and dying for you at the hands of evil men so that you might escape the penalty and power of your sin and enjoy daily fellowship with God the Father (Philippians 2:5-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 1:3). Yes, Jesus’s love for you is pretty shocking, actually. But this doesn’t mean we can approach him any old way we like.
Modern, western Christians, though, are eager for a relatable Savior, a God with whom they can “connect.” Often, this means God is brought down to a human level, his deity subjected to his humanity. We can, after all, relate best with someone who’s just like us. And so, many western Christians shape Jesus after their own image: For some, he is made into a sort of semi-boyfriend, a near-lover in whose arms they can be held, and upon whose chest they can rest their head, looking up into his startling blue eyes, his creamy skin glowing faintly with supernatural light, inspiring pseudo-romantic emotions of admiration, affection and perhaps even passion (but of a holy sort, naturally). Others want a snuggle-toy, a kind of security-blanket-Jesus who lifts them onto his lap, hugging and protecting them from all of life’s difficulties; he’ll make them feel warm, and safe, and confident that everything’s going to be all right. Still others want a “dude,” a best-bud they can take with them fishing, or to the football game, or to the gym; who always approves and supports whatever they’re doing; a kind of positive life-coach with whom they can just “let it all hang out” and feel accepted and encouraged.
Each of these kinds of Jesus draw from human experience and desire, conforming the Creator, Savior and Lord of All, to a finite, earthly frame of reference. “So what?” some rejoin, “Did he not become one of us? Does he not ‘remember that we are dust’? Was he not in all points tempted like we are? Jesus has walked in our shoes as a human being, suffering hunger, thirst, and tiredness, sore feet and aching muscles, cold and heat, and terrible pain, and so we do no wrong in approaching him as one of us. That was the whole point, wasn’t it, of his becoming a man? He came to earth so that he might better relate with us.”
Is this really the case? Did Jesus come to earth to be our boyfriend, security blanket or buddy? Is Jesus one of us? Are we his equal or near-equal and able therefore to interact with him as such? Not hardly.
The Incarnation wasn’t aimed at relatability, but at atonement and redemption. Jesus came to earth to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), our Redeemer and Savior. His goal in becoming the God-Man was to make a way through himself for sinners to be reconciled to their holy Maker, not to make us comfortable with a human-sized God.
After his resurrection, Jesus returned to his heavenly glory. We are given a description of who he is now in the Revelation of the apostle John:
Revelation 1:12-18
12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if refined in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shining in its strength.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, “Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he who lives, and was dead; and, behold, I live forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus is our Friend, but he is unlike any other friend we might have. As John’s description here reveals, we are not dealing with just another human that we can approach as it suits us to do. Forget snuggling up to Jesus; like John, seeing the glorified and ascended Christ would drop you to the ground in terror! Imagine staring into the flaming eyes of Jesus, his face radiating light like the noon-day sun! I doubt sentimental, semi-romantic thoughts would fill your mind. How snuggly do you think you would find God the Son, in whose hand seven stars are held and out of whose mouth flies a two-edged sword? Not very, I suspect. How chummy would you be with the One who holds the keys of Hell and Death, who is the Almighty Alpha and Omega, whose voice roars like crashing waves of the ocean? Are you really going to just hang out with him watching Netflix, or playing God of War? I think not.12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if refined in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shining in its strength.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, “Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he who lives, and was dead; and, behold, I live forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Yes, Jesus is our Friend – the best we can possibly have - but he is also our Creator, Savior and Lord. When we approach him, it is to a heavenly King seated on his throne (Hebrews 4:16); when we come to our Savior, it is to he who is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation”; when we “draw near in full assurance of faith” to Christ, we find ourselves before the Creator and Sustainer of All Things, in whom everything holds together. Can we be casual, then, about our interactions with him? Ought we to make Christ a snuggle-toy, or boyfriend, or buddy? Obviously not.
Our salvation is not an end in itself. Beyond our redemption through Christ there is fellowship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 13:13; 1 John 1:3). But in our pursuit of intimate communion with God we must be careful not to diminish with whom we are interacting, to make God so relatable He becomes a mirror of us rather than our Master. We cannot properly fellowship with God when we’ve distorted Him into a buddy, boyfriend, or snuggle toy. No such God exists; those who think He does, worship their own imagination, they worship, really, themselves.
The comfort, rest and peace we find in God, the strength and joy we derive in walking with Him, arises, not from making God small, making Him as human as possible, but from seeing God “high and lifted up,” in all His stunning glory and power ruling the universe, but stooping in infinite grace and mercy to love us, too.
Revelation 19:11-16
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Isaiah 6:1-3
1 … I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Romans 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
1 … I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Romans 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
part of the problem is how modern cultures tend to view friendships. An acquaintance from the Netherlands tells me it’s far worse in the USA. Friend is an overused term; within friendships informality and casual interaction are emphasized etc…
of cs Lewis and his constant emphasis on human beings as the creature and God as the creator. Knowing God is good but it’s as a creature knows his creator…