Representing God

I was thinking about how everything we see in scripture seems to be about how we are representing God. Since we are made in the image of God, we should be pictures of who God is. Of course, because of sin, Jesus is the only one who is “the exact representation of his being” (Heb 1:3). But we are called to put Christ on display and so doing show people the Father. Paul says we are “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:10-11)

Something that struck me was the fact that this is the heart of the laws of the Torah as well. Most Christians have a lot of trouble with the book of Leviticus. They either find it too boring to read, don’t think that it applies at all, or start nit-picking trying to figure out what is applicable to them and not. We don’t make sacrifices anymore, but do we need to keep following other commands such as “Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed” or “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” (Lev 19:19)? What about keeping kosher? Or what about “Do not steal” and “Do not lie” (Lev 19:11)? I think we’re asking the wrong question when we try to figure out what we have to do and what we don’t. 

The Leviticus laws are meant to point us to Christ. As followers of Jesus “we are no longer under the supervision of the law” (Gal 3:25), so the question is not what to do and not to do. The question is how am I putting Christ on display? How do each of these commands enable the life of Jesus to be manifested in our mortal flesh? You don’t plant your field with two kinds of seed because you are painting a picture of God’s holiness (set apart) in your business. You don’t lie because God is the Truth. You keep the festivals of the LORD to declare His bountiful mercies to His people over the generations. How we put Jesus on display may look a little different in this day and age, but ultimately it’s the same idea. When people look at us, they should see Jesus.