Tammy, I have only just seen this thread.
Excellent. You express far better than I ever could exactly what I would like to,say.
There is a very good and interesting book called "Jesus: self portrait by God" by Enda Lyons.
Conveniently, it is even a Google book.
Through Jesus, we can see the ideal of what we could be. Not only that, but we can see God in human form.
Through studying him, his words and actions as shown in the New Testament, we can get a clear idea of what God wants. I do not see a God obsessed with organisation and structure, Qcmbr. That is a bizarre twist insisted on my the Watchtower. Jesus shows us a God of mercy, of pity, who heals and cares especially for the poor and weak. Overwhelmingly, he shows us a God of love. Through him, we can learn about God.
True, we can also learn something about God through the written history and records of the prophets etc, but there is a strong human filter. Some of the Old Testament is much more the history of a nation and of its laws.
Christ shows us a new way. He tells us he IS the Way. The Bible is more like a map.