The Cross

The cross is so good. I am glad. It sucked. A lot. But I'm Glad it happened.
We as a christian culture are to focussed on the cross. We are worshiping it instead of the guy on it.
The cross is not the pinnacle, life with the father is. The cross is the climax, or turning point. It was at the death on the cross that all of existence took a violent turn. Everything changed. All of it. The world would never, ever be the same. I think that what we are missing is what is most important: The result.

If you're angry, please bear with me and read the whole thing.

Why did Jesus die on the cross? You all know. He died for our sins and as the hymn says, "Jesus paid it all." Okay, cool. So now what? Has it not occurred to us that when you pay for something, you get it? We don't give the cashier the money and walk away without the product. So if He paid it all, I think it's safe to assume that He was paying for something? Something worth all of Him.

It's like this: Jesus wants to play catch with me, but we don't have a foot ball. As I reach into my pockets, I find that I am broke, in fact, I owe the football store money. Jesus, with his great love, smiles and says "I'll be right back." He comes back with a ball and a sheet of paper saying that my debt is paid. (Now remember the goal, to play catch with Jesus.) He hands me the ball and I stare at it with amazement. As he tries to get me to throw it to him, I resist and say things to him like- "Thank you so much for this!" and " You are so good! How could you give up all that you had to pay for this? To pay for me?" He smiles and says "because I love you. Now let's play." I look at the ball and then repeat the process. I thank him over and over again for paying for the ball. Jesus is annoyed.

He wants to play. So bad that he went and paid the price for it. But we're still not playing because we're standing in a building on sunday with our arms up in the air looking like silhouettes in front of the beautifully produced screens, thanking him for his death instead asking him for his life.

It is because of the death we can live. But we aren't living! Don't you see?! We are called to live with him, literally. We can talk to him and he can talk to us. He will hold us and fill us with his Spirit as we take a breath. He is Life. He is holy. If we were actually living with him, we'd be changing. If we were actually praying, conversing with him, we would be changed every single time.The world would be changing. Because if he is holy, which he is, contact with him will change everything about who you were prior to the contact. When dirty meets clean one of two things will happen. Either they will both get dirty, or both get clean. God is perfect, therefore he will always be perfect, therefore our contact with him will not change him, and because something has to change, it becomes very clear who it is-US! We aren't living. Lets throw the ball! Yes, we will drop it a few times, but practice makes perfect! Let's live as he has called us to live! Through baptism, our own death and resurrection, we are united with him in the death and brought by him to the life. New Creations, made for life and not death! (Romans 6 poorly and ignorantly crammed into a nutshell)

Next time you pray, believe that He is there with you as you do it. I promise you he is. Believe. Have faith. He is alive and will smother your heart and it will overflow like a spring. This love is like nothing else. Ever. It is real.

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect."
Matt 5:48