19/08/2026
The Beauty of Christ
Open Scriptures Ministries
19th August 2026
One of the most compelling reasons that the Gospel is, to quote the words of Francis Schaeffer, "The True Truth", is the complex beauty of its subject, namely Christ! Were we to come up with our own image of a Saviour, he would look completely different from the one presented to us in the gospels. Like the Israelites choosing the glories of a human king rather than being ruled by Yahweh, our 'christ' would be a glorified image of ourselves.
For starters, our self-made saviour would not be tainted by any sense of weakness. We, in our pride, cannot be saved by weakness. As our favorite movies attest, only a Superman can save the day. But Christ comes to us in weakness and humility. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29). The Christ of the Gospels is the lamb that is led to the slaughter; a sheep that before its shearers is silent (Isa. 53:7). He saves us by embracing utter weakness.
And here is the glorious irony. The weakness he embraces is not His own. It is ours! There is no weakness in God. And were there to be such a thing as God's weakness, Apostle Paul writes, it would sill be stronger than man's greatest strength (1 Cor. 1:25). And so what seemed like ugliness in Christ's weakness and humility, is actually God's glorious beauty! Here is a saviour God who takes the form of His lost and weak human race to save for Himself a people for a treasured possession! O Glory to the Lamb of God!
But the Christ of the Gospels is not only a humble, weak, and suffering Lamb. He is also the Mighty Lion King who comes to rule the world and to conquer God's enemies. This Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5) comes to roar in the camp of the enemy to free "all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery" (Heb. 2:15).
Dear beloved, are you still amazed by the beauties and glories of the Biblical Christ? It is when we loose this Holy wonder that we revert to making christs who are after our own likeness. And those christs are just glorified versions of ourselves. In other words, we either adore, worship, love, and entrust our souls to the True Christ or we attempt to save ourselves by our own strength.
May Christ shine His light in our hearts that we may know Him more, love Him truly, worship Him acceptably, and serve Him with joy.
Yours in Christ,
Joseph
