Why is stuff about Jesus?

I wanted to clarify what I mean by the phrase, "stuff is about Jesus." The goal of this blog is to develop a vision of our reality, of all our relationships, hobbies, careers, communities, experiences - a vision which sees all these as pointing to Jesus. The reason any thing we experience is pleasant, compelling, fulfilling, or exhilarating is because it is a little bit like Jesus. Emerson says "all things with which we deal, preach to us." I am saying that this is very fundamental to our reality, that God has made images and pictures throughout all creation which proclaim his character. And because God's character is seen in and defined by the person and work of Jesus the Living Word, who is God himself (John 1:18), I am saying that all things are proclamations of Jesus. Everything is like a little model or sketch of Jesus.

What is absolutely crucial to understand is that none of these things are actually Jesus himself. This vision is quite the opposite of pantheism. Everything is not Jesus. Everything is about Jesus. The reason that things break down and get old is because they are not Jesus. The reason that Noah gets drunk and fails to fix the problem of sin in the world is because he is not the coming Messiah. He is just a picture of what the Messiah will look like (or a "type" of Messiah). The reason that boyfriends and girlfriends let us down (even though we can really convince ourselves that we have arrived) is because they are not Jesus. Jesus is Jesus. And Jesus is God. He is the great Bridegroom and the Church is his Bride (Eph 5:32).

This universal breaking down and failure of all things is the way the universe proclaims, "We are not Jesus, we are just a little bit like him." Analogies breakdown because stuff is not Jesus. Stuff is about Jesus.

Idolatry is when we worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. Idolatry is when we fail to observe this universal proclamation of all things. It is when we make these things out to be Jesus himself. We make our experiences, our relationships, our hobbies, careers, favorite bands, favorite authors, food and drink, sex, etc., - we make these things out to be ends in themselves, rather than signs which point away from themselves to Jesus. This is perversion. This is evil.

So this blog is an effort to raise an awareness of the fact that we are swimming in a world of signs which point to a world beyond this world; they point to God.

"He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:20-21).

And to answer my question, stuff is about Jesus because God wants us to know him and enjoy him in everything we do and experience.

Taking the time to articulate the way that things point to Jesus is so worth it. That's what this blog is about.

- Jesse