From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God

by Frank Viola

To illustrate the centrality of Christ, I would like to rehearse a story that the Lord gave my friend Mike Broadie. It goes like this.… Every year Mary, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible get together and weep. As they are weeping, Mary says, “I brought Him into this world. I gave Him life on this earth. But they have worshipped me and have stolen glory from my son.” Then the Holy Spirit speaks and says, “I did not come to speak of Myself. I did not come to reveal Myself. I came to reveal Him. I came to magnify and glorify Him. But they have made Me central.” Finally, the Bible, also weeping, speaks and says, “I came to point men and women to Him. I came to testify of Him. I came to make Him known. But they have made a god out of me.” Point: When a group of believers makes Jesus Christ central, He is reflected in their conversations, their sharing, their ministry, their meetings, their songs—and their very lives. In so many modern churches, a set of doctrines, a certain theology, a charismatic personality, a set of special works or ministries, is the centrality rather than Christ. Mark it down: The centrality of anything other than Christ is a betrayal of the new species.