All Things Beautiful #5 – Ken Williams

“Jesus/I AM is Beautiful – part I”

The apostle Paul recorded how Jesus Christ exposed death’s illusion of power, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55 NIV my emphasis)

Jesus/I AM, lamb of God, ate and swallowed death, his excruciating last, last meal, Good Friday afternoon, slept Friday night and woke up Sunday morning. He left the empty tomb and shared that he freed all humanity from the fear of death. The mystery of descending into hell tells me God is present everywhere. He freed all people from the fear of death, as a selfless, powerless, slaughtered lamb.

Yes, but why are so many attracted to the young shepherd David? Now there’s a hero!

David freed Israel by using by weapons to kill Goliath in face-to-face combat. Imagine the good guy facing the bad guy, holding his hand above his 45 caliber Colt “Peacemaker” holstered low on his hip, drawing and killing the bad guy, now lying face down “eating dirt”. In the background, Frankie Lane is singing, “Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling” (High Noon 1952 movie). Cool?

Jesus doesn’t think and behave this way, so, not cool! Christian religion creates “cool” bumper stickers like, “Jesus first came as a lamb, but he’ll return as a lion, and is he pissed!” Tragically, they love an angry God killing the “bad guys”. Or, how about, “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead, hands”? This is more than “self-defense”, this is our defiant determination to make a god in our own image. The way of “…wars and rumors of wars…” (Mat. 24:6).

Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, driven by this world’s spirit, attempted to destroy Jesus and his followers. Jesus met Saul but not in a face-off, not a repeat of “David and Goliath”. Jesus didn’t hold a weapon, there was no “gun battle.” Instead, Saul’s eyes were opened to see how much God loved him and the people he was hurting. Saul was stupefied by seeing the world turned right-side-up. Saul admitted he was a loser and surrendered unconditionally. He accepted Jesus’ gift of eternal life. He described this in his letter to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself up for me.” (Gal. 2:20 NASB).

Jesus is I AM (Ex. 3:13-14). He is God in the flesh, God’s incarnate self-revelation (John 1:14, 18). He doesn’t desire to prove himself to anyone. Instead, he gave his honor to us; we are created in his image (Gen. 1:27). He headed, undeterred, for the show down with our enemy, death. He selflessly emptied himself in devotion to his Father’s will, loving all humankind. He knew no one would consider him a hero when his dead, bloodless body hung on cold metal spikes that were driven through his hands and feet into a tree. But the “Christ Hymn” reveals all of us will honor him in loving response for freeing us from sin and fear of death (Phil. 2:5-31).

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:12). In addition to Jesus drawing us to himself like a fisherman drags a net full of fish, we will be drawn to Jesus/I AM. His Beauty!

All Things Beautiful – 6, Jesus/I AM is Beautiful – part II coming

Ken and Nancy Williams served for some 25 years in pastoral ministry, and then almost another 20 years serving and mentoring other pastors.  With the heart of a pastor Ken continues to write and blog from upstate New York where he and Nancy live close to their grandchildren.