WHAT KIND OF GOD IS THIS?  

“As Jesus is lynched in the name of religious orthodoxy and executed in the name of imperial justice… we discover that the God revealed in Christ would rather die in the name of love than kill in the name of freedom.”  Brian Zahnd

Let that sink in for a moment.

What kind of God is this…?

• This all-powerful God who is found washing the feet of his followers.[1]
• This all-sustaining source of life who weeps at the grave of a friend.[2]
• This supreme Lord who seeks not submission but pursues friendships.[3]
• This omnipotent Creator who builds His kingdom on gentleness and humility.[4]
• This ruler of heavens who chooses to serve and not to be served.[5]
• This divine Saviour who secures eternal life through His own carnal death.[6]
• This Almighty One who displays strength through compassion.[7]
• This Righteous Judge who is slow to anger and quick to forgive.[8]
• This God who disregards the crowds to seek out individuals.[9]
• And, above all, this Emmanuel God who came to earth, not to start a religion but to end it.[10]

This is the Christ, called Jesus

Jesus didn’t come to earth to start another religion.

Christ came to earth as the “Lŏgŏs Word”, the most tangible expression of the Kingdom itself.  John 1 provides a deep insight into the character of Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John intentionally uses the Greek word Lŏgŏs here, meaning a “divine expression”. The English term “word” does not do justice to what John is trying to communicate. It is from the Greek word that we derive the English word “logo”, referring to a visible image and an expression of a company’s ideas and concepts. In this sense, Jesus as the “Word” of God is, as Paul says, “the image of the invisible God”.[11]  Jesus is the ‘logo’ of the Kingdom of God.

It is with this understanding that we embrace Christ as the Lord of our lives.  Not from a transactional point of view that ‘He paid for my sins’ only, but from a transformational point of view that ‘I become like Christ’ – the ‘logo’ of His kingdom, a metamorphosed, born-again, regenerated reflection of God almighty.  The ultimate goal of every follower of Christ is: to let our light shine before men, that it will reflect Christ in such a way that they may see our transformed lives by our good deeds, moral excellence, and recognize, honour, and glorify our Father who is in heaven.[12]

Sadly, in modern-day religion, the Gospel we proclaim became a transactional message of Christ paying for our sins and not a transformational message of Christ transforming our lives.  We need to embrace “transformation”, not “regeneration”, when we embark on our spiritual journey.   This begs a critical question to carefully consider:

Are we saved or are we transformed?

If we are honest with ourselves, we, as caterpillar believers, regenerated but not yet transformed, often carry with us hearts of prejudice, judgment, hatred, suspicion, anger, pride, and dualism.  We are saved but not yet transformed.

Richard Rohr sums it up as follows:

“Christianity is a lifestyle—a way of being in the world that is simple, non-violent, shared, and loving. However, we made it into an established “religion” (and all that goes with that) and avoided actually changing lives.

One could be warlike, greedy, racist, selfish, and vain in most of Christian history and still believe that Jesus is “personal Lord and Saviour.” The world has no time for such silliness anymore. The suffering on Earth is too great.”

No, Jesus didn’t come to earth to start a new religion.  The point was to put an end to religion.  He came to call to Himself those who are heavy burdened under the weight of religion,[13] to set the captives free,[14] to bring followers of God into a relationship with God,[15] and to serve as a signpost to the Father.[16]

In a nutshell, He came to seek, save, and transform.[17]  His ultimate death on the cross was to transform followers into imitators that would reflect the glory, character, and beauty of God.

Paul described the “dress code” of a transformed believer best when he encouraged the Church in Colossians to “clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. To bear with each other and forgive one another if any of them had a grievance against someone. To forgive as the Lord forgave them.  And over all these virtues to put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

For all who believe, confess, and proclaim the liberating, forgiving, loving, sustaining, and empowering Christ, this needs to be the garment worn, visible for all to see.  Our social media posts, opinions we love to hand out, our vocal and sometimes unkind sentiments – these will all reflect whether we are transformed or simply saved.

If it rings true that Jesus never intended to establish “Christianity”, then neither should His followers.  GOD deserves to be reflected to the world in the same way that He revealed Himself through Jesus.  Nothing less should satisfy a transformed believer than reflecting this compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love.

Relative to our journey of faith, it begs us to not only accept a Saviour but to adopt a Christ-consciousness, not only partake in the transaction of salvation but the transformation of salvation.  We cannot be both caterpillar and butterfly at the same time.  It is either the one or the other.

So, if this Supreme Shepherd and Overseer of our souls[18] is characterised by love, grace, and forgiveness, and we are to be the ‘logo’ of this Kingdom, what faith will this require?

From the book:  SOUPIFIED by Mike Burnard: thirdwayinfo@gmail.com

 

[1] John 13:5  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

[2] John 11:35  Jesus wept. 

[3] Luke 5:20  When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 

[4] Matthew 11:29  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

[5] Matthew 20:28  …just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

[6] Romans 5:10  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life? 

[7] 2 Corinthians 1:3  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. 

[8] Psalm 145:8  The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 

[9] Matthew 18:12  “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 

[10] Matthew 11: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation] AMP

[11] Colossians 1:15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

[12] Mat 5:16  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 

[13] Matthew 11:28-30  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

[14] Luke 4:18  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 

[15] John 15:15  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 

[16] John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

[17] Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

[18] 1Peter 25  For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.