Be part of His big picture

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1).

The great cloud of witnesses, to which Paul referred and that compasses us round, are the members of the hall of faith. They are everyone showcased in the preceding chapter, Hebrews 11. They created  a great constellation of Christ.

“By faith Abel ….” (Heb. 11:4).

“By faith Enoch ….” (Heb. 11:5).

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Heb. 11:7).

“By faith Abraham….” (Heb. 11:8).

“Through faith also Sara ….” (Heb. 11:11).

“By faith Isaac ….” (Heb. 11:20).

“By faith Jacob ….” (Heb. 11:21).

“By faith Joseph….” (Heb. 11:22).

“By faith Moses.” (Heb. 11:23).

“By faith they [the new nation of Israel]….” (Heb. 11:29,30).

“By faith the harlot Rahab ….” (Heb. 11:31).

“Gedeon, and …Barak, and …Samson, and …Jephthae; …David also, and …Samuel, and … the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again....” (Heb. 11:32-34).

“...and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Heb. 11:35).

These were the great cloud of witnesses. They are all in Christ. His Spirit was in them, and they were in Him, atoned for and adopted into His family. And, to this day, they have helped many to see Him by faith and to receive Him.

“This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth^G2334 the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life” (John 6:40).

G2334 theōreō From a derivative of G2300 (perhaps by adverb of G3708); to be a spectator of, that is, discern, (literally, figuratively [experience] or intensively [acknowledge]). Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries.

https://www.picturemosaics.com/photomosaics/id/180

The stories of those real people in the Old Testament are like today’s thumbnail photos of real people that make up the larger mosaic. The New Testament Gospels didn’t touch on every beautiful thumbnail pic of Christ in His life because He was directing us to the Old Testament for much of those miniature thumbnail pics. They all testified of Him, for the whole volume of the Book was written of Him. Jesus taught us that we can see Him by piecing together the photo mosaic of Himself that, through the power of His divine nature, those Bible individuals bore out in their lives and words. We see Him through them; for they testify of Him. Young Rebecca’s happy exertion to be of help and give water to others described the ever youthful heart of Jesus, the Servant of servants (see Genesis 24:18-28, 58). Go there and drink in all her inner beauty; it testified of Him who laid down His eternal life to serve it to us. Drink in the Master, and the water of life that He offers to everyone reading His Book. In not only the male lambs, but also the females, we see Jesus as not only the greatest “Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45), but also the greatest “Eve” (Gen. 3:20). Christ was “the desire of [God’s] eyes” (Eze. 24:16), and also “the desire of all [Their children]” (Hag. 2:7). His Father’s second self, the Son was “God blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom. 9:5). The “gentleness [‘ānâvâh, modesty]” (Ps. 18:35) of His look and His love, which never did “behave itself unseemly” (1 Cor. 13:5), constrained His Father to command, “Let all the angels of God worship him” (Heb. 1:6). “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12). “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

David’s love of obedient worship, his beholding Jesus’ face by faith (see Psalm 16:8, 11; 23:6), and giving Him thankful praise for His goodness as “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1) showed us Jesus, the Son of David (see Psalm 63; Matthew 26:30). “Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God” The Desire of Ages, p. 73. The close, innocent fellowship between David and Jonathan (see 1 Samuel 18:1-4) speaks volumes of the sensitivity in the heart of Christ for everyone He ever met ― and that includes you and me as we watch Him. He meets us in His word through His Spirit. He has called us to the Bible. From His Father’s throne His heart resonates in ours as we love what we see in Him there. Our faith in His beauty and strength is accounted to us for righteousness.

The longer we read the Bible and see a larger picture developing from its varied personalities, the better picture of Jesus we see. It’s still not yet easy to see Him, but He is coming into focus.

  

Then to those individuals of both Testaments add Jesus, the God of the Bible from beginning to end. His magnificent love shows through much more clearly after seeing Him in all the Old Testament people under His tender care.

The rich, young ruler gives us a backward look to the pure, innocent, brotherly love between David and Jonathan when Jesus first met the princely candidate of discipleship.  Amazed at the beautiful power of Christ’s kingly love and forgetting his own lordliness, the rich ruler ran and fell at Jesus’ feet begging, “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). “Jesus beholding him loved him” (Mark 10:21). It was a perfect millennium throwback to the scene with Jonathan and David. Believing it to be the last time they might see each other, “David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded” (1 Sam. 20:41). “Jesus beholding him loved him.” Jesus’ heart was knit with the ruler who became humbled by the children and mothers crowding around Jesus. But, Jesus’ heart was also thrust into the grave when the desperate ruler suddenly remembered a friend greater than Him. The ruler was so close to the kingdom, but would not enter in because of love for this world.

But, shortly after that great disappointment, through a similar scenario the Father sent great joy to His Son’s patiently enduring heart. We can say that we see Jesus treating rich Zacchaeus the same as He did to that 20-something born into wealth. Jesus stopped the multitude directly under the desperate, childlike middle-age man with great social status who was driven up a tree to “see Jesus who he was” (Luke 19:3). It did not enter Zacchaeus’ mind what the multitude might think of his own apparent immaturity, for he was dying for pardon and acceptance from the Messiah. Jesus’ pardon and acceptance were all Zacchaeus could think about. He would wait for Jesus to pass under him, while he would imagine how merciful and kind He was. Stopping under the tree, “Jesus beholding him loved him.” And Christ’s acceptance thrilled the convicted tax collector to no end. Now Zacchaeus delighted to do what Jesus had asked of the young ruler ― release his grip on his wealth. We see a beautiful Jesus through the eyes of Zacchaeus.

Jesus, beholding the world sunken in the consequences of its depravity, still loved the world; and that’s an understatement. Why else would 5,000 men and their families, suffer hunger, thirst, and exhaustion to hear Him teach? Why else would He die in hard labor for the second birth of the whole world? When we see Jesus’ loving-kindness toward them, our hungry faith grasps that He is still loving and kind today. He is loving and kind to us, too. Under His tender care we have the joy of Zacchaeus, which the world can’t take away. Is the desire of Jesus’ love driving you up a tree to see Jesus for yourself? Go to the Bible characters and see Him revealing Himself through them. You will find yourself in a tree looking down at Jesus at centerstage. Their lives and love are still testifying of His life and love. Our response to Jesus will be Jonathan’s to David. “Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David” (1 Sam. 19:2). “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Sam. 18:1). And the love of Christ will knit our soul with His, by His love to us and His faithfulness to His Father’s Law.

We see Jesus in all His holy ones, because they were His workmanship; they were His handiwork. The work declares its maker; and the house gives glory to the builder/owner of the house (see Hebrews 3:3-6). This is not allegorizing the scriptures, spiritualizing it away, or interpreting it in ways other than historically/literally. It is obeying the command of Jesus to search Him out in every word of historic, literal people and nations (see John 5:39). It’s letting the Holy Writ draw a picture of its Author in ever increasingly defined lines. Yes, there are important lessons there for character building. But, the greatest lesson of all in the Bible is to know Him who was the fullness of the Godhead manifested. “This is life eternal”, said Jesus (see John 17:3). All find happiness and peace who see the collage of Jesus in His college graduates, the “mighty and holy people” (Dan. 8:24) of the Old and New Testaments. All who witness His living, moving photo mosaic rest in His gracious righteousness given to His people written of; and they repent. Like Abraham, all who see Jesus and behold His righteousness find the illusive fountain of life; they discover salvation and freedom and life. They receive righteousness by faith by Jesus. (See Romans 4:1; John 6:40; 15:7, 8; 4:14; Psalm 42:2; 16:8-11.) Jesus says,

“Whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.” (Prov. 8:35).

“In His favour is life.” (Ps. 30:5).

His prophets were the brightest stars in His inspired mosaic. They pointed us to Jesus through their testimonies. Therefore, it is our privilege to plug Him into their messages to the people that came from Him.

We also see Jesus by faith (which is seeing Him by the Spirit) in His precepts spoken from His prophets. His doctrine was simply the outgrowth of Himself. He exemplified everything He taught, for He was not a hypocrite. But, we must search through both the Old and New Laws to find Jesus in His whole doctrine (see Isaiah 42:4), for He is in the Book from “In the beginning God…. Let us make man” to “our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Gen. 1:1; Rev. 22:21). He is the Alpha and Omega of the Bible, the beginning and end of it (see Revelation 1:11). As a child, He drank in every word of the scriptures; which is how He could live out every word that He had personally handwritten into the Law of God. Humbled by the beautiful example of His loving acceptance toward the outcast and downtrodden, and His profound, authoritative expression of His Father’s Law, new life surges in our conscience and we receive power to imitate Him. “The Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom. 8:10). His Father’s Law becomes our delight. Jesus, through His written word, has interceded and reconciled us to God.

“Jesus was joyful because He walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful.

But His delight was in His Father’s Law; and in His Law did He meditate night and day.

Jesus was a tree planted by the rivers of water, and brought forth fruit in His season; His leaf also did not wither; and whatsoever He did prospered.

The ungodly and demons were not so: but were the chaff which His Spirit drove away.

Therefore the ungodly could not stand before His judgments, nor the devils in the congregation of His disciples.

For the LORD knew the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly perished.” (See Psalm 1.)

“I am joyful because I walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.

But My delight is in My Father’s Law; and in His Law do I meditate day and night.

I am like a tree planted by the rivers of water, and bring forth My fruit in its season; My leaf also does not wither; and whatsoever I do prospers.

The ungodly and demons are not so: but are like the chaff which My Father’s Spirit drives away.

Therefore the ungodly cannot stand before My judgments, nor devils in the congregation of My disciples.

For I know the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” (See Psalm 1.)

“Jesus suffered long, and still was kind.

Jesus envied not.

Jesus exalted not Himself; He was not puffed up.

He did not behave Himself unseemly, He sought not His own.

Jesus was not easily provoked, He thought no evil.

He rejoiced not in iniquity, but rejoiced in the truth;

He bore every burden, believed every sorrowing soul, hoped for every sinner, endured every accusation and discrediting.

Jesus never failed.” (See 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.)

“As our High Priest, Jesus suffers long with our resistance toward Him, and He still is kind….

Jesus is not easily provoked; He thinks no evil of His children.

He rejoices not in our iniquity, but rejoices in our conviction of the truth;

He bears our every infirmity, believes our every repenting sorrow, hopes in our redemption, endures every one of our sins and shortcomings.

Jesus never fails.” (See 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.)

Yes, it is charity that does the above, as the Bible so teaches. We have a duty to love. However, the truth is the most beautiful as it is witnessed in Jesus. We cannot truly have charity without the inspiration that seeing Jesus gives us ― not only by His confirming treatment of others, but also by His expression of these wonderful actions to me as I read of them. If it hasn’t yet become natural for me to automatically see Jesus in His Law, I must intentionally put Him there. I must plug in His name everywhere in the Bible, for it all testifies of Him. Otherwise, I greatly limit the resource of His Spirit and severely hamper my ability to know Him. I must keep His commandment to search the Book of Himself that He wrote upon Hebrew hearts who would be “read of all men” (2 Cor. 3:2, cf Deut. 4:6). I must search the Word, His face and His heart. My heart and mind will open to new life when I see Him who so wisely used the lives and words of redeemed people to reveal Himself. It was their great privilege for Him to entrust His self-revelation to them. And we glean from that that He desires to entrust us with the same, if we will take His yoke upon ourselves as they did who went before us. That they without us should not be made perfect.

“Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.… And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.… And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him.” (Luke 24:25, 27, 31).

Each of the living stars in Christ’s great cloud mosaic individually demonstrated a small piece of His whole character. Only as they are put together do they begin to reveal Him; yet the full detail remains to be seen. The last generation before His return will add much to His living, moving, talking photo mosaic, yet He will always be greater than the sum of them all put together.

Like Zacchaeus, we need to know who Jesus is. What makes Him so different? Yes, what planet did He come from? What makes Him tick? And, like Zacchaeus, in order to find Him out we need to go to all lengths and stretch all of our powers to their limits.

The truth from the character of Christ is seen by those truths inculcated into His servants. They live in Him; in Him they live His life, and move and have their divine nature from Him. Their gift of a righteous, loving heart forms a huge picture of Christ.

  

“Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.” (Gen. 18:18).

By seeing the people of God we see their anti-type in Christ. “And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (Gen. 21:12).

In Abraham, Isaac, and in Jacob was Jesus seed called. In their family and family name was salvation for the world. As all of the descendants of Israel glorified their fathers, so have all the truly justified and sanctified children of God illuminated His character of truth and grace to the world. Even down to the very last days of the old covenant with the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the salvation of the world depended on their place in that old covenant mosaic.

 “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22).

In the new covenant with its sealed, spiritual church, a true, much fuller picture comes into view.

 

Jesus was the one who Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob represented as head of the body. In Him, in His body, in His family members, in the loyalties and expectations for His family member, under His house rules, the children of God would find their salvation. In Christ became the new hope of salvation. In Him we find our thumbnail places that form His greater person, His kingdom.

 “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Cor. 5:21).

“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1Cor. 8:6).

In the Old Testament, the place of salvation was found in Abraham, Isaac, and in Jacob as a lesson book, as an elementary, fundamentally structured foundation that would teach our darkened world the greater, more abstract truth of salvation in Christ. After the world’s many millennia learning under that first regime, humanity was ready to move forward into the new dispensation under the new covenant. That new covenant brought with it new privileges, new responsibilities, and new dangers from a jealous dragon. Now we could have the knowledge gained from the former millennia to have faith to live directly in Christ without the old instructive framework of Israel’s forefathers. Faith is based on evidence, and we had four thousands years of evidence behind us to guide our faith in the Messiah Jesus in His heavenly sanctuary. Our faith could anchor in Him as He officiated His sacrifice there. Thus, we could continue to receive of His sanctifying grace and flash forth His glory, greater than they could during His more structured, Old Testament, schoolhouse.

In Christ was the new membership. In Him. In Him were found all the blessings of God. The people of God were circumcised of the instructive, but unwieldy, Old Testament, and in the New were now walking by the abstract of faith alone, walking and rejoicing by faith in a real and personal, resurrected and ascended Jesus.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;

Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him:

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:

That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:3-14).

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” (Phil. 3:8,9).

“For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him:

Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power:

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” (Col. 2:5-12).

“That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Thess. 1:12).

“He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.

He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked….

Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” (1Jn. 2:4-6,8,9).

“But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1Jn. 2:27,28).

“Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him…. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1Jn. 3:6,9).

“And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” (1Jn. 3:24).

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.

And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1Jn. 4:9-16).

“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” (1Jn. 5:20).

The more we identify with the holy people of old, folks whose pride was laid in the dust, folks who were humbled and desolated and pardoned and converted, the more we see the intricacies of Jesus. And the more we see the meek and lowly One, the more we will be humbled and desolated and pardoned and converted. The more we will be like Him whom we behold.

As we read of their victory over sin and Satan we eat the flesh of the very Son of God. We ingest the characteristics of Jesus. And as we see their brokenness for backsliding we drink Jesus’ blood; we see His open shame and death before His Father. We increasingly sense a growing picture of Jesus in our mind and in our trust. We know Jesus.

“He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.” (John 6:56,57).

As the holy and mighty people made up His handiwork, so that their lives painted a picture of Him, so did paint a picture of His Father, whose handiwork could be seen in His Son.

“If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” (John 10:37,38).

His saints can say the same thing to the devil and to his earthly compatriots. And one day, when we fully represent Christ, so that no facet of His character is marred by our failures, then He will be glorified in us.

“Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him.” (John 13:31,32).

And He will immediately glorify us by returning to take us to Himself. The refreshing from the presence of the Lord will have been our daily experience while he fixed Himself in us and fixed our place in His great cloud of witnesses. We learned to abide in him and have His precepts and lessons never leave our faculty of choice.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:5-7).

He will come because His people of the last and greatest generation on Earth will have perfectly reproduced His character in their own. They honored Him and now He will honor them. Their glory will replicate the brilliance of the stars of heaven.

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Dan. 12:3).

By His children throughout eternity Jesus will be seen in all of His exquisite beauty.

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.” (Ps. 90:17).

All His people will forever show His beauty of holiness. He will inhabit His larger self, as He lives and moves among them and inhabits their praises.

“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.” (Ps. 110:3).

The longer we study Jesus’ mosaic made from Bible characters, keeping in mind the need for its bigger picture, the clearer that bigger picture of Jesus will become to us. Backing away from the real life biblical personalities, connecting those individuals together for the purpose of seeing Jesus and His workings in them, the better we understand Him. We better conceptualize His character. We trust in Him more firmly. His Spirit controls our spirit. We become more like Him. By beholding His mosaic in His servants throughout the eons, some burning brighter than others, connecting the dots, slowly the great cloud of witnesses points to their Maker. They form His picture. Will you join them in the spiritual Milky Way of Hebrews 11? Will I? Will we be “a burning and a shining light” (John 5:35), joined with the Bible characters who have gone before us, all together pointing the world to see Jesus in us all?