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January 7, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Even if It Means a Cross, by Phil Ware
Editor's Note: This is a reprint of a previous article.
And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever
would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my
sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains
the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25 RSV)
We'd like to have a "Tinkerbelle Jesus" -- a Jesus who can fix all our
problems in our personal lives, then when we die at a ripe old age in
our sleep, can sprinkle a little fairy dust on us so we can fly home to
God and receive our eternal reward.
Now we really don't like to admit this truth, of course, at least not
in those unvarnished and raw of terms. However, if we get really honest
with our expectations, that's what we really want. We don't want to
have to grow up and find a faith that sustains us through hard times
because we live in a broken world where sin mars and bad things happen
to perfectly good people. We love that Jesus is our Savior, Redeemer
and Friend -- and he is each of these and more! We just have a hard
time with that "Jesus is Lord" part where the Cross became his
destination and might possibly become our own!
We're not alone. Even Jesus' closest followers in the days of his
earthly ministry, wouldn't hear his message of the cross before it
happened. Even though Jesus warned them three times in clear language,
most didn't get it. Sure, some were fearful at what awaited in
Jerusalem that final trip. Some even realized that danger and death
might be lurking. Something tells us, however, that they really didn't
believe Jesus would let that happen.
As Jesus moved ever closer to entering the Holy City for that last
time, they jockeyed for position. Some wanted to be on his right hand
and left hand when he seized power. The crowds, who welcomed him with
palm branches and shouts of triumph, were expecting the Kingdom of God
to break forth at any moment. Jesus seemed to have even stoked the
fires of anticipation and conflict as he entered the Temple, ran out
the moneychangers, took on the religion scholars, and made his presence
boldly known.
None of Jesus' followers anticipated that the crowds' shouts of triumph
would turn into calls for his crucifixion by week's end. None expected
that one of Jesus' closest followers would betray or that his most
vocal follower would deny, with cursing, that he ever knew Jesus. None
expected the rest to run away and hide in the room where they had just
had the Last Supper with their Lord whom they believed to be the
Messiah of Israel.
So it is not surprising to me today when folks want to hear the voice
of the "Tinkerbelle Jesus" preachers who promise everything good and
nothing bad. It's a watered-down Christianity without the Cross, an
empty Easter without the Passion, and the promise of a Savior without
the need to follow the Lord.
The Cross calls us to the life of Jesus.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reminder of Jesus' words and Jesus' model
sacrifice seem as drowned out today as they were in his own day -- when
the Nazi boot descended upon Germany and many of the religious leaders
capitulated to Hitler's plans. Bonhoeffer said, "When Jesus calls a
man, he calls a man to come and die." Ouch! Not a popular message in
any era. Bonhoeffer's words were more than words: he proved he heard
that call of the Cross in many ways, including his own martyrdom at the
Nazi's hands.
The Cross, in Jesus day, was an awful torture stick used by the ancient
Romans to shame, wound, and kill through humiliation all in the name of
preventative justice. Jesus' Cross, the real and awful Cross -- not
some token piece of jewelry or good look symbol -- extends its shadow
over this week and our lives because of the coming Easter weekend. That
Cross reminds us that without dying with Jesus and sharing in his
Cross, there is no resurrection to Jesus' life.
So as we journey to the joy, the victory and the assurance of this
coming Sunday, let's not skip over the Cross which makes the
resurrection so powerful, startling, and life-changing. As Mel Gibson's
The Passion of the Christ so visually reminded us, there was an awful
price paid by God to redeem us and bring us to glorious hope. As Jesus'
words to his followers remind us, there is no shortcut for us around
the Cross and there is no room for Christians who refuse to grow up,
who want to cling to a Tinkerbelle Jesus instead of the Lamb who was
slain, who is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
More than anything, the Western church needs to remember that shadow of
the Cross calls us to the life of Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus, and
the integrity to stand up for those everyone else ignores ... no matter
the cost to us personally. Only then will Resurrection Sunday dawn with
hope for changing the world by the power of God's grace and Jesus'
love.
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Do you think most Western Christians really only want a "Tinkerbelle
Jesus" or is that too harsh an indictment?
Do you think we really "get" the meaning of the Cross?
Do you think we really only want the Savior side of Jesus and not the
Lord side of Jesus who calls us to follow him no matter the cost?
I'd love to hear your take on this on my blog:
http://blog.heartlight.org/phil/2008/01/a_cross.html
---------
(c) 2008 Phil Ware <phil@heartlight.org>. All rights reserved.
RELATED LINKS:
* This Time, Giving Up is Winning
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200609/20060925_givingup.html
* My Salvation, Not His Own
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/1217-wjd.html
* Who is Good?
http://www.heartlight.org/feature/sf_990106_whoisgood.html
* Southern Hills Church of Christ
http://www.southernhillschurch.org
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200801/20080107_cross.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
SEE THE MORNING, by Chris Tomlin
Award-winning artist Tomlin offers a whole new set of soul-inspiring
easy-to-sing songs about God's faithfulness.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?260
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