I remember when The Passion of the Christ released 20 years ago, many of my friends were excited to see it. But I didn’t go. Not because the film was rated R. Not even because of potential problems with Mel Gibson’s theology. My issue was I didn’t want to see Jim Caviezel as Jesus.

For the longest time, I’ve had questions about the second commandment and whether it’s appropriate for Christians to draw or depict our Lord in various art forms. Should we have paintings of Christ in our homes or churches? Is it okay for children’s Bibles and storybooks to provide pictures of Jesus? Does The Chosen—or any similar project—portray the true Christ, or does it inevitably offer a false image?

These questions and more are challenging, and Christians have wrestled with them for centuries. This week at TGC, two articles take up the debate again: “Are Images of Christ OK?” Ryan M. McGraw says “No,” while Keving Keating answers, “Yes.” Both offer biblical reflection and careful analysis. Readers will benefit from considering each side.

But wherever Christians land on the debate, we should all take this topic seriously. The church can’t afford to be careless or complacent on a question as important as how we view the Savior.