Feb
13
1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
All that is gilded is not gold. All that bears the name of Christianity is not Christianity. But how do you tell the difference? If Christianity has a pulse, where do you find it? If Christianity has a hum under the engine, where do you listen for it? If Christianity is a fire, where is the heat? All of these questions are answered various ways by various people.
Christianity is, etymologically, a movement centered around Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was a man whose ministry most prominently dealt with his death, resurrection, and ascension. It is true that Jesus bears a good many names such as healer, teacher, rabbi, leader, provider, and protector. But what he is most is our crucified Lord. His ministry is most about the Cross. I use Cross here to serve as a tangible sign for his sin conquering death, resurrection, and ascension. Christianity is fundamentally about the Cross. It is at the cross we understand our need for a Savior. It is at the Cross that we see the tremendous mercy and love of our God. It is at the Cross we see the righteous judgment of our Covenant Lord. It is at the Cross that we learn how to love others, sacrificially.
This all sounds very simple. The problem however is not in the articulation of our doctrine but in our actual practice. In practice, there are plenty of reasons we don’t want to live in the shadow of the Cross. It is the place we see the ravages of sin in our hearts. It is a place we understand the terrible holiness of God. It is a place that challenges the very root of our selfishness in our interactions with others. For this reason, we devise all sorts of innocuous ways to wander a little further from the cross. We decide to plunge head long into theological thinking making theology the pulse of Christianity. We decide to plunge head long into community service thinking that community service is the pulse of Christianity. We decide to whip up our emotions thinking that emotional experience is the pulse of Christianity. In all of these things we make the cause the effect and short circuit our dependence on the Cross. The Cross motivates deep theology. The Cross invigorates passionate service. The Cross produces the deepest emotions. It is all because of the Cross.
So my question for you is, “Does your Christianity take you to the Cross?” Do you have splinters in your nose, you’re so close to the Cross? Or have you convinced yourself you can wander a little further away from our crucified Lord for the sake of “good” things? It is only at the Cross, in the person of Jesus Christ, that the Christian finds life and life eternal. Will go there and will you stay there?
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