Follow: Life-Giving HabitsSample

Jesus on every page

I remember those first few weeks and months after I became a Christ-follower. I was so excited and filled with passion from this newfound life given to me. My whole life had changed and I couldn’t wait to get this Christianity thing going. And I remember just wishing and hoping someone would give me a list of things to do. A list of things to do now that I was a Christian. What did I need to do? How many times per day should I pray? How many chapters in the Bible should I read per day? Isn’t that how we often think when it comes to relationship with God? We spend hours reading the Bible with the mentality of finding a list of do’s and don’ts. 

And we start reading Scripture with a specific lens, like a pair of glasses. And when I put on this pair of glasses I start searching for the list of things I’m allowed to do as a Christian and a list of things I’m not allowed to do as a Christian. But that’s not the only lens we sometimes use when approaching the Word right? Sometimes I read the Word to try and determine when the world is going to end – then my lens is all about end-time theories. 

But when approaching Scripture, when I sit down to read the word, then it’s not to try and discover the list of do’s and don’ts for the Christian faith, it’s not about figuring out the exact date of Christ’s return. When I approach Scripture, it’s all about discovering a person. A Person is waiting on the other side of your reading time, and His name is Jesus. 

Colossians 1: 15 – 20 paints this beautiful picture of who Jesus is. The heading over these few verses says Christ is Supreme – isn’t that great? 

Colossians1:15-20  Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.  For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him, God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth through Christ’s blood on the cross.

Everything God ever wanted to reveal, to say, or to demonstrate to us – is displayed and brought forth in and through His Son Jesus. This scripture is saying that Jesus is central to everything. He existed before anything, He holds everything together and He is first in everything. 

That means that when I approach the Word, when I spend time reading through it, it’s Jesus at the centre. That means everything, every book, every chapter, everything in this Book is supposed to reveal more of and lead me closer to the person Jesus. It’s Jesus on every page. 

I remember when I first discovered this I thought that it couldn’t be true. I remember thinking how on earth could all those boring Old Testament books possibly be revealing Jesus. But that’s the thing – the more you read, the more you dive into this book, the more you’ll discover that every single word that has been captured as part of the Word of God, has this golden thread running through it. And it’s the thread of the good news, the gospel. The good news that God has reconciled us to Himself again, all through His Son Jesus. 

When Jesus rose from the dead He met two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke 24: 27 says the following:

“Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” 

Jesus showed them how everything from Moses and all the prophets were about Him. 

Jesus is on every single page, friend. The next time you spend time in God’s word – ask yourself this question: "What does this passage of Scripture reveal about Jesus?"