The scriptures tell us everything we need to know about Jesus from an academic perspective, and He is revealed to us on a deeper level when we accept Him as Lord and Savior and receive His Spirit.  The gospels show us how our walk with Jesus impacts every facet of our lives, and the remainder of the New Testament helps us apply His teachings in our church family, our homes, and our community.  Jesus didn’t address every issue we face in our modern world specifically, but He did give us the principles we need to respond to all of them.

It is difficult to identify any one portion of the Bible as the starting point for a pure, organic approach to following Jesus.  It is important to know the prophetic and historical context of His appearance, as well as the facts related to His death, burial and resurrection.  We should see Him as King of an ever-expanding kingdom on earth, and the Suffering Servant who died that we might live.

I believe it is safe to rule out approaches that make Jesus a vehicle for our personal agenda, whether political, social or personal.  While it is probably impossible to be completely self-aware of our behavior along these lines, at least we can avoid any overt attempts to make the person of Jesus fit our motifs.  I realize this danger is inherent in my choice of the organic movement as a metaphor for my thoughts here.  There are those who believe Jesus had a particular dietary directive for His followers.  If He did I don’t find it in the Bible, and I will go ahead and confess I will eat about anything that doesn’t move if it tastes good.  If you can accept my weakness in this respect, read on.

I have always thought the portion of scripture known as The Sermon on the Mount is a great place to begin one’s walk with Jesus.  It is a profound summary of kingdom life, and is at the same time highly principled and grounded in reality.  Then, within this important discourse can be found something we refer to as The Beatitudes.  The term “beatitude” is a Latin word expressing happiness.  The idea behind the designation is the fulfillment Jesus can bring into our lives when we pursue His Father’s will with our heart, mind, soul and strength.

This is where I have landed in my personal quest for a pure reflection of Jesus.  I hope I am never so arrogant to call my witness to the world “100% Jesus.”  Yet, this is my target.  My life-long goal is to see Jesus more clearly, that I might understand His Father’s will more distinctly, and a result reflect both the Father and the Son more accurately to a lost and dying world.