Christ In All

If the Gospel is not Christ-centric – drawing us to participate in the identity and mission of Jesus – then it is not the Gospel at all.

This is true not only for humanity, but for all creation.  When “the heavens declare the glory of God,” it is the glory of the Son they participate in.  Thus the Son is described as the Sun of Righteousness, the Bright Morning Star, the Rose of Sharon, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, the Rock of Ages (and within Anglican tradition relating to the use of the Lord’s Prayer, as our Saviour tortoise...).  The Son can be described in such ways because creation participates in his identity and mission, and thus reveals him, as it finds its reconciliation in and through and for him.

So the wider creation, as well as humanity, reflects Jesus as apostle, as the sun and moon journey across the sky, and in so doing secure days and seasons from one generation to another; as prophet, in global warming; as evangelist, in water in a dry land; as pastor, in food and medicine hidden in plants; and as teacher, in the antelope, the ostrich, the ant, the hyrax, the gecko, the birds of the air and the lilies of the field...