Skip to main content

Christ Without A Cross


H. Richard Niebuhr said that Americans believe: A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross[i].  That is a convicting statement.  It’s easy to think of the cross as a beautiful piece of art or jewelry, rather than what it fully represents.

When I meditate on my sins, I have no place to leave them but the cross.  As much as I don’t like to think over my sins, I don’t like to think about the cross even more.  It is a truly horrific and inhumane site.  The movie The Passion of the Christ, physicians’ documentation of the cross’s effect on the body, and reading the Bible’s description of Jesus’ sufferings alert my senses to the reality of the suffering Christ endured on my behalf.  But no matter how serious I am about identifying my sins, or meditating on Christ’s sufferings, I could never fully understand what it was like. The cross of criminals was the most brutal treatment one man could impose on another.  It involved shame, humiliation, excruciating pain, mockery and torture.  God, love, torture, mockery, it all comes together in a beautifully repugnant way. 

When I visited Israel I went to place called Nazareth Village where Christians have built a mini hamlet to demonstrate what life was like in the first century.  They prepared a cross built according to the historical documents and its size brought an even deeper awe about the cross to my soul.  The cross was probably only about six feet off the ground, as the crucified human was nailed in a seated position with knees bent so that it would cause more pain when the person attempted to draw breath. 


            Here’s a picture I took of their realistic version of a 1st century cross from at Nazareth Village. What stunned my soul was how intimate it must have been for Jesus.  His mother, John, the mockers and others were closer to Him than I imagined.  The cross of Christ was real.  It was vicious.  It was reserved for rogues.   This is where our God chose to conquer the reality of sin.  In the season of Lent we take forty days to take in this truth.  His sacrifice was not just gruesome, it was redemptive.  It was the ugly answer to the ugliness of sin. 

Like the Apostle Paul, when I truly think about the cross I exclaim: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14).  Christ’s suffering helps me accept my own suffering.  Rather than being overcome by it, I look for how God has designed redemptive powers into my own suffering.  Whatever suffering God allows into my life has the same power of Christ’s suffering. 

The American way is the gospel of success, the New Testament teach me the Gospel of the cross.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Pilgrimage that Started with Tears

                Who would think I would shed tears deciding to set out on a wonderful journey that I have longed to take for many years?   Before I was ready to fully accept God’s invitation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I had to journey to a place of agreement between what my soul wanted and what the Lord wanted for me.   For years I have been declining opportunities to travel to Israel—not because I didn’t want to go but because I wanted to go with my husband by my side.   I know that God could have arranged that for me, but instead He asked me to accept that He wanted me to be willing to go and leave everything behind.   When I was asked to make a decision about going on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, God gave me this verse in answer to my prayer -- Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are cr...
2 comments
Read more

The Bliss of Knowing You are Loved by God

            There is bliss of knowing that you are loved by a real and intimate God.   I have felt that bliss. I don’t experience it all the time and sometimes it takes me a while to notice how much I miss it.   Often I come back to my senses when I read the spiritual writings of one who is explaining how great God is and I am reminded how good He is to me.               I suppose the saints stayed more connected to the bliss of God on a regular basis and missed it far less than me.   I wish I knew their secret; all I can tell you is that it is a cycle for me to find myself unaware of God for a time.   It is often a struggle to reconnect each day. What brought me to my senses recently was a huge blessing He sent my way.   This good thing literally came to me directly from the hand of God.   I didn’t even consider sharing the joy I was ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Me?

              When something tragic or unexpected happens, our first question seems to be, Why me?   It’s only human to feel this way and wonder why life has got to be so hard.   God has helped me look at my unwanted circumstances with a different question.   Rather than keep the focus on my pain and ask, Why me?   I focus on Him and wonder, How can You be glorified when everything is going wrong?             Adding one more word to that question makes a huge difference spiritually and opens my soul to find so much more than just my pain.   Another way to look at life’s tragedies is, Why not me ?   Sure, we each have our own amount of personal sorrows. These are the kind of sorrows that have no answers.      We can't explain away death, cancer, rape, bankruptcy and other heartaches.   It is easier to explain...
Post a Comment
Read more