I still have my first Bible. I may have had earlier children’s Bibles that I would flip through the pages to find the pictures, but my first study Bible was a Christmas gift from my parents when I was about 13 years old. Even though I no longer use that Bible for daily reading or in worship, I wouldn’t take anything for it. I remember how I felt when I unwrapped that box on Christmas morning and saw “Scofield Study Bible, King James Version” on the outside, and then when I opened the box and saw my name embossed in gold on the cover. I knew that I had been given something very important.
That Bible had at least two things in common with most of the Bibles I came across in those days. First, it was a King James translation, and second, it was a red letter edition. I don’t see red letter Bibles as much now, but when I was a child I knew exactly what it meant. When reading through the gospels, when the text came to a place where Jesus was speaking, the color of the text changed from black to red. This let the reader know that the words in red weren’t spoken by a pharisee, or a disciple, or an apostle, those words were spoken by Jesus. And even though I knew that every word of the Bible was important, those words in red, well, they demanded my full attention. These words, and those texts about Jesus, still demand my full attention. They demand my all.
This is my first core value: It’s all about Jesus.
Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.”
In Jesus, God is redeeming all things to himself.
Jesus was executed by the government on a cross, and God raised him from the dead on the third day. This is a bold claim, but I believe it with 100% of my being, and it is the most important thing I believe.
Jesus is the truest picture of God that we have. When we want to know what God is like, we look to this Palestinian Jew who was born to the virgin Mary and walked the dusty roads between Galilee and Jerusalem.
Jesus is Lord, which means that everyone else is not. Even if you sit in the Governor’s Mansion, the Oval Office, or in any other place of power, you are not lord. It doesn’t matter who you are, you do not get my allegiance. Jesus is Lord. Be still and know that I am God (not Pharaoh, or the Emperor, or the Governor, or the President), Yahweh is my shepherd.
Jesus is our example in how we should live.
The teachings of Jesus (the red letters) are the most important teachings we have, and they should command our attention and obedience.
All Scripture is to be interpreted in light of Jesus, and when I read in the Old Testament that “a woman caught in adultery should be stoned” I must interpret that in light of Jesus’ forgiving the woman caught in adultery, and I must stick with Jesus. When I read in the Old Testament “an eye for an eye” and then I read Jesus saying “turn the other cheek,” I must go with Jesus. The canon of scripture is not flat, Scripture must be interpreted through Jesus. The peak of scripture is Jesus, and to me, at the Sermon on the Mount. Even though it is all inspired, all scripture is not equally important.
Sometimes it seems that Christians can get sidetracked from Jesus. And those things that sidetrack us are not bad, they’re just not Jesus. Sometimes traditions become most important, other times it could be church programs. In our culture, politics or politicians easily become most important, and politicians love it when Christians blur the line between our true Lord and elected officials. And sometimes a pastor or popular preacher becomes the most important thing. Sometimes it could be a building, or a style of worship. And sometimes it can even be an unhealthy focus on parts of Scripture that are not Jesus, focusing heavily on Old Testament laws and purity culture or focusing solely on Paul’s writings. And even though some of these are important, and some are very good, it is Christians first calling to look to Jesus.
So, this is my first and most important core value. It is all about Jesus.