THE BEAUTY OF THE CROSS
In my short experience as a follower of Jesus Christ, I've come across a lot of stumbling blocks, and I've encountered many people whose faith has been challenged or even extinguished by the same issues. One such obstacle that I seem to come across often is the issue of the cross being overly horrific. The thought that God would ordain the death of his Son in such a manner (or even at all) is simply off-putting to many, and to still more it is simply offensive. More often than not, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is expressed as a transaction by which one Man's undeserved suffering is exchanged for a different, undeserving man's pardon. To be clear, this is what happened on the cross. But to be clearer still, the cross itself is only a small part of the story of Jesus Christ. Even the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is only a portion of the Grand Narrative of God's divine romance.
Just like anything else, when the story of the cross is taken out of context, or only in a partial context, it often is misunderstood or not understood at all. Jesus, his life and ministry, and his horrible death is much more than a transaction by which our sins are forgiven. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a manifestation of a furious love that burns with more passion than a thousand suns, and that has been brilliantly ablaze since the dawn of creation. Let me begin at the beginning...
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...” I feel it's important to note here that the creation story is not meant to be taken literally. It's meant to capture the essence of creation. It's a poem. That's what poems do, capture the essence of a truth.
This story begins in Genesis 1, when God, in an overflow of his own creativity, creates all that is. And then, out of an overflow of His love, He forms a creature out of the dirt and endows it with His very Spirit (Genesis 2). In the beginning, man was created in a perfect union, he with God and God with him. But after a time, something went horribly wrong and the objects of God's affection, the focus of His fiery passionate love, began to thumb their noses at Him, rejecting Him both as their God and as their lover (Genesis 3 and onward). Thus, God set in motion the most beautiful love story ever written.
For thousands of years, God patiently walked along side humanity as they ignored and offended Him. Like a husband bound by a sacred vow to his wife, He faithfully never left her side, keeping watch over her and meeting her every need, even in the face of continuous rejection. For thousands of years, he attempted to woo her back to Him, and for thousands of years, she rejected Him again and again and again (Exodus - Esther). Then, in an act of perfect and desperate love, God himself laid down his life in order to bring His beloved back into a perfect communion with Him (Matthew 1 – John 21).
While Jesus was crushed by the Father, the Father, being one with the Son in the trinity, did it with expectant joy, knowing that with His sacrifice, he would finally win back his bride that he had known at the beginning in the Garden, inseparably joining the two together as one, His Spirit in ours and our spirit in His. Perfect love reunited. ... The only catch is that the bride has to choose to take the gift that the Bridegroom joyfully purchased for her.
It is only the divine power of the burning passion of God's heart that can take history's most potent and brutal instrument of torture and death and transform it into the most astounding and breathtaking instrument of Love. God loves you with more passion and burning desire than you can even begin to imagine. God literally gave up His life to win your heart.
I said at the beginning that the cross, when viewed as a cold transaction is often offensive. likewise, when a proper perspective is gained on what the cross really is, the result is equally and beautifully disturbing. If you understand and comprehend the scope of what you've just read, you will likely find yourself standing face to face with Jesus Christ, Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, and as you meet his gaze, He will gently whisper into your heart “your move”.
