The Offensive Cross - A Bloody Service

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

The Offensive Crucifixion

Have you ever seen some of the remarkable cross designs people have made over the ages? There are beautiful crosses all over the place. Through the efforts of Christian artisans, it has become a popular design element in even secular design circles.

However, the crucifixion is offensive. It is bloody. It is gory. Say what you will about Mel Gibson’s The Passion, but his violent portrayal of the torture and crucifixion of Christ is rather more accurate than we’ve seen before.

Would we consider an iron maiden an aesthetically pleasing design element? Perhaps we would if we were the Addams family. It would be weird to hang a tiny guillotine around our neck or wear electric chairs as earrings.

Are we Jews or gentiles? Is the crucifixion a stumbling block or foolishness? Where it is offensive to anyone, it should especially be offensive to Christians. Why? Because that’s where our sin is. Are we not offended by our sin? We should be, and more than anyone else. The wages of sin is death. That’s the horrible death we deserve. It’s offensive.


Messy Servanthood

But we must find God’s wisdom in such offensiveness. If Christ is the revelation of the Father, then the crucifixion as His crowning achievement among us is definitive of the nature of God. Few understand this: if God is eternal and absolute, then there are no bounds to His existence. (Properly, He is substantial or essential, but this is meaningless if you haven’t studied philosophy.) His eternal nature is creative. We would expect that He would only create eternal things, since He is eternal, and that which he creates would be harmonious and integral to His own existence. What is incomprehensible is that God created that which was not Himself. He created a temporal world, ours. In no way is He diminished by this, but now exists something that is not God, although its foundation is in His substance.

Inasmuch as Christ is the author of life, there can be no death in Him – yet He died. (Is it any wonder that he was resurrected?) This is the revelation of God’s sacrifice in creation. Inasmuch as all things were created through Christ, they are recreated through Him. Consider if you will a cloud of particles, if it were possible, that all absolutely sought their own purpose to the exclusion of every other particle. The cloud would disperse and have no unity. Consider the same cloud of particles that all absolutely served one another before themselves. They would be unified and bound together in common purpose. Is God not absolutely unified? Then would the unified cloud not more accurately reflect His nature? Sacrificial service is foundational to God’s eternal nature.

How much then, if we are to imitate our Lord, should we imitate His sacrifice in service to each other? I’m not saying we should seek death on a cross. What I’m asking is how much do we bear one another’s burdens?

My wife came home from a Mothers Of Preschoolers class once where some messy projects were taught. If I recall correctly, the phrase offered where children are concerned was, “embrace the mess.” I have 3 active kids, four animals, and a small house. It matters not how much you clean, there will always be a mess somewhere in the house. Raising kids are that way.

We’re all kids of a sort. Adults have the same silly attitudes as children. We have simply learned how to be more sophisticated in how we manifest these in our behavior:

“Mine!” “No, mine!” (Possessiveness)

“Huh uh!” “Uh huh!” (Personal preference determines belief resulting in false presuppositions later in life.)

“I know you are but what am I?” (Self-righteousness)

“I wanna do it myself!” (Promptly spills milk all over the counter. False self-reliance in adults stifles cooperation and limits productivity.)

No, but rather if we seek to bear one another’s burdens, we must be prepared to get involved with each other’s messes:

“Oh – spilled the milk all over the counter again, did you?”

What do we say afterward? Do we ignore it or say, “Have fun cleaning that up?” Or do we say, “Let me help you with that?”

When the mess is serious sin, are we so inclined to offer the same help with the understanding that such help may involve discipline? Perhaps we are dealing with a murderer or adulterer. Perhaps a person has been exposed to horrible things and has serious emotional problems. Are we willing to embrace the mess for the sake of the ministry of the gospel?

If you work with bees to obtain the sweetness of the honey, expect to be stung on occasion. We often don’t like to get involved with difficult people and situations because we rightly perceive that we could be harmed or even condemned by association. Christ was condemned because He kept company with sinners. That is a cross we are called to bear. It’s offensive to us and to all who observe.

Embrace the mess, even if we get bloody. That’s our service.

More Random Thoughts

Here are a few more random, unconnected, unfinished thoughts…

John Piper posted a list the other day on why he doesn’t take pot shots at fundamentalists. It’s a great list and worthy of consideration because it puts into practice the I Corinthians admonishments regarding unity in the Body of Christ. I spent a few years running from God. When He brought me back, I was adopted by a family of wild fundamentalists. It was the stark contrast I needed to the life of sin I had been practicing to show me what God had put to death in my life and what real life was. Here’s the list:

1. They are humble and respectful and courteous and even funny (the ones I've met).
2. They believe in truth.
3. They believe that truth really matters.
4. They believe that the Bible is true, all of it.
5. They know that the Bible calls for some kind of separation from the world.
6. They have backbone and are not prone to compromise principle.
7. They put obedience to Jesus above the approval of man (even though they fall short, like others).
8. They believe in hell and are loving enough to warn people about it.
9. They believe in heaven and sing about how good it will be to go there.
10. Their "social action" is helping the person next door (like Jesus), which doesn't usually get written up in the newspaper.
11. They tend to raise law-abiding, chaste children, in spite of the fact that Barna says evangelical kids in general don't have any better track record than non-Christians.
12. They resist trendiness.
13. They don't think too much is gained by sounding hip.
14. They may not be hip, but they don't go so far as to drive buggies or insist on typewriters.
15. They still sing hymns.
16. They are not breathless about being accepted in the scholarly guild.
17. They give some contemporary plausibility to New Testament claim that the church is the "pillar and bulwark of the truth."
18. They are good for the rest of evangelicals because of all this.
19. My dad was one.
20. Everybody to my left thinks I am one. And there are a lot of people to my left.

What I find interesting is that for theological conservatives, we recognize those who deny the veracity of key elements of Christian orthodoxy as “liberals” while calling ourselves “conservatives”. “Fundamentalists” are those who are theologically conservative who tend toward legalistic trappings or appearances.

Most liberals don’t call themselves “liberals”. They call themselves “moderates”. They call conservatives “fundamentalists” and make no distinction between adherence to Christian theological orthodoxy and overt behavioral legalism. Use of the term “moderate” implies that there is some group much farther left that they don’t agree with. The problem is that if there are, they generally don’t acknowledge them. They certainly don’t criticize them like they criticize those they consider to be “fundamentalists”. As such, their intent seems to be to reframe the argument semantically in an attempt to move mainstream thinking ever leftward.

These same “moderates” would have been happy to leave me in my former sin. Thank God for the fundies.

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Another one from Desiring God references a Piper sermon on “Spiritual Depression in the Psalms”. I’ve talked about depression before, but this is something I’m still processing. The question I ask myself is why do we treat depression like it is a spiritual weakness?

“You have emotional issues? You must not be very spiritually mature.”
“I have emotional issues. I can’t let anyone know about it because then they’ll think I’m not a very mature Christian and ostracize me.”
or… “I have emotional issues. People will patronize me or not know how to interact with me.”

Actually, all of these are fairly accurate. However, none of them are indicative of attitudes that are becoming of a healthy Body of Christ. A good church recognizes the truth. Truth alone does not good ministry make. Sacrificial service in love does. There’s a lady who has been visiting our church. She’s been tangentially active, but has had some issues in her life. She’s open about the fact that she’s had a nervous breakdown, but most people are unwilling to sit and listen to her – so I do.

Spiritual depression, severe stress and emotional needs are characteristic of many of the first-person view in the Psalms. In this fallen world, this is normal. The church above all should be the first to recognize and offer comfort and direction for this. You can’t do this unless you are transparent enough to offer your own struggles. However, this is viewed as weak and not becoming of good leadership.

I don’t have any admonitions here; this is just where I am in considering these things.

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We (Christians) are gifts. Ok, we have received the gift of eternal life, but we are gifts to the Son by the Father. (John 17)

The question was asked, “What kind of gift am I?” I saw a commercial the other day. I think it was for an insurance company or some such. An old car, a classic that needed a lot of restoration work, was being bought and attached to the back of a truck.

The announcer came on and said something to the effect that “There’s nothing like towing a ‘new’ car home.” I imagine that’s what kind of gifts we are.

Perhaps we can imagine the Son saying to the Father, “Couldn’t you clean them up a little bit?”

The Father replies, “I have given them to you. It’s up to you to clean them up.”

I don’t mean to mischaracterize the relationship between the Father and the Son. No analogy is perfect. But I got a kick out of thinking that God saw fit to not only give me a gift that I do not deserve, but to consider me a gift fit for the Son.

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PFC Ross McGuinnis was awarded the Medal of Honor a few days ago posthumously. He gave his life for his fellow soldiers in an act that, given fuse times of grenades, took a scant second or two to perform. He didn’t have time to think about it in that moment. Rather, in order to react as he did, he would have thought about it and made that decision ahead of time.

Dealing with sin is an act of living sacrifice. We can’t wait until temptation strikes to make the decision. It’s too late by then. We make the decision what to do when tempted ahead of time. Given the insidious nature of temptation, we must realize that our lives here are to be characterized with a trust in God that desperately clings to Him moment by moment not unlike a soldier who in the heat of battle desperately clings to his weapons and armament, and looks to his fellow soldiers for support and commander for guidance.

How Well Do You Love?

Let me start off with some fun stuff from Blogthings. Then I'll have some more serious commentary afterward. As a disclaimer, these are not necessarily accurate, but I'm having fun with them...

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy: Your propensity for monogamy is medium. In general, you prefer to have only one love interest. But it's hard for you to stay devoted for too long! [actually, I'm intensly loyal] There's too much eye candy to keep you from wandering. [it's not "eye candy" that attracts me] Experience Level: Your experience level is high. You've loved, lost, and loved again. You have had a wide range of love experiences. And when the real thing comes along, you know it! Dominance: Your dominance is low. This doesn't mean you're a doormat, just balanced. You know a relationship is not about getting your way. And you love to give your sweetie a lot of freedom. Cynicism: Your cynicism is low. You are an eternal optimist when it comes to love and romance. No matter how many times you've been hurt - you're never bitter. You believe in one true love, your perfect soulmate. [How does this comport with the monogamy thing above?] And if you haven't found true love yet, you know you will soon. Independence: Your independence is low. This doesn't mean you're dependent in relationships.. It does mean that you don't have any problem sharing your life. In your opinion, the best part of being in love is being together. [Yes!!!!!]

The Five Variable Love Test

Your Psyche is Green [I was hoping for Purple!!!!]

You radiate love, empathy, and acceptance. You are able to relax almost everyone you meet. You are naturally comforting. [Too often I just make people nervous.] Balanced and flexible, you only seem perfect! When you are too green: you are jealous, manipulative, and deceptive [I swore off being manipulative in High School] When you don't have enough green: you feel sluggish and out of sorts

What Color Is Your Psyche?

Your Love Type: INFJ

The Protector In love, you strive to have the perfect relationship. [Why not?] For you, sex is nearly a spiritual experience, a bonding of souls. [Amen!] Overall, you have high expectations for any relationship you're in. However, you tend to hold back a part of yourself. [I have to. Who can handle all of me at once? Besides, I'd just be full of myself if I let loose. Gotta give it all to the other person.] Best matches: ENTP and ENFP

What's Your Love Type?

You Are 50% Passionate, 50% Compassionate

You possess an ideal balance of passion and compassion. You definitely can get swept away and lose your head a little. [A Little?!?!?!?!?] But you're rarely a fool for love! [Ahem. Too often a fool for love is more like it...]

Is Your Love Style Passionate or Compassionate?

You Are A Realistic Romantic

It's easy for you to get swept away by romance... [Yup...] But you've done a pretty good job keeping perspective. [Yup...] You're still taken in by love poems and sunsets [Absolutely... Anyone ever read Song of Solomon?] You just don't fall for every dreamy pick up line! [Who needs a pick up line? I vote for a tickle fight...]

Are You Romantic or Realistic?

Your Kissing Technique Is: Perfect [Woo-hoo!!! My wife can confirm this... Honey? Honey? Stop laughing...]

Your kissing technique is amazing - and you know it. You have the confidence to make the first move. And you always seem to know what kissing style is going to work best. Sometimes you're passionate, sometimes you're a tease. And you're always amazing!

Are You a Good Kisser?

It's easy to love the lovable.
CAN I GET YOUR ATTENTION HERE?!?!?!
Scroll down and stop salivating over the little romantic pictures...
I said...

It's easy to love the lovable.

Here's a quote:

"We only love Christ as much as the person we love the least."

I don’t remember where I heard this quoted recently. It may have been on a Xanga blog or one of the other Christian source blogs I peruse regularly. However, I’ve been pondering it with respect to some of what I read in the Bible about true love. I have to wonder how much I truly love Christ. Psalm 116 begins with the statement “I love the Lord…” How could the psalmist write this honestly? I think about John 14:15, look inside my heart, and recognize that I do not have enough love in my heart for perfect obedience. Does any of us? If we don’t have perfect obedience, then does it not follow that we wouldn’t have perfect love?

Peter learned his lesson. He said, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away… Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” He ate his words.

Was Christ not lovable enough for Peter to love Him to the extreme? Ah. So we have trouble loving even the most lovable.

How then can we resonate with Psalm 116 and fulfill John 14:15? The fun "love" tests that resulted in the "blogthings" above seem as they are: shallow, material, and self-centered. If I have made a decision FOR Christ, what decision have I made? I have noticed improvement in my spiritual development. However, I have not arrived at a point where I can say, "I love the Lord" and mean it perfectly.

Nevertheless, He loves me enough to die on the cross for me. He chose me. I have nothing but to be grateful. I cannot be grateful unless I admit that I have not loved Him enough, for if I have loved Him enough then there is something I can boast about. He loves me and I desire it. In spite of myself, my gratitude opens me up to occasionally show the love of Christ to others. This is the Holy Spirit of God at work. In the meek and lowly I see the mark of my Lord and I desire Him. I reach down and lift up. I love the Lord.