Monday, May 6, 2019
651 - Living at the Cross
Spirituality Column #651
May 7, 2019
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Living at the Cross
By Bob Walters
“On a hill far away …”
opening hymn lyric from “The Old Rugged Cross”
I still
have some Good Friday preaching stuck in my head regarding last week’s topic
about the foot of the Cross.
E91 pastor Rick Grover on Good
Friday posed the question, “Are you living at the foot of the Cross?” If the answer is “yes,” then that means to
most Christians that they are living in sacrifice and obedience to – and joy of
– God’s will. Rick followed up
discussing what we “leave” and “find” at the Cross. What we leave – I’m paraphrasing – are our
cares and failures; what we find at the Cross are our courage and purpose.
On the ride home from the Good
Friday church service, my wife Pam – a preacher’s kid, retired English teacher,
and my editor – and I were discussing other aspects of living with the Cross
and the uniqueness of each person’s encounter and relationship with it. Our list included life-saturating
thankfulness, joy, and deep worship – not merely praise as when we tell God how
much we love Him and thank Him, but the robust worship of what the Catholics
accurately and I think wonderfully call Christ’s “sacrifice of redemption.” Full
life at the Cross is far more than “leaving” and “finding.”
My long time Bible mentor,
doctrinal teacher, and dear friend Dr. George Bebawi actually blanches at those
opening words of the hymn listed above.
To him, that line “On a hill far away”
places the Cross and sacrifice in entirely the wrong context. Jesus, the Cross, the sacrifice, the love,
the redemption, the promise – all that Christ is – did not just happen on some
distant hill in a distant land in the distant past. No … it is with us today. We are living with it today. Upon Christ’s promise depend heaven and all
eternity. Jesus inscribes that in our
hearts, right now, always. He does not
change.
Many people approach the Cross gingerly,
warily, fearfully – or stay away entirely – knowing full well its historical
horrors as an instrument of ancient Roman torture, punishment, and slow
execution for the worst kind of rebels: the ones who fomented rebellion and
committed treason. When one considers
all that the Pharisees did to alter God’s laws and hold His people hostage to
their own legalistic whims, and then ignored the Messiah Christ as salvation’s
deliverer, it makes more sense – and seems more just – that it would have been
the Pharisees who deserved to be crucified, not Jesus.
But that’s not how God rolls. Jesus died for all humanity, the Pharisees
included.
If we live like Christ – and we
should – there should be no darkness within us (1 John 1:5). And to that end I’m saying we must live at
the foot of the cross in the joy, the light, and the perpetual sacrificial love
God demonstrated through Jesus. Frankly,
I don’t want to live in the “shadow” of the Cross, even though I am thankful it
covers my sins. In all situations, it is
faith in Christ that brings the light, and it is doubt, dissension, and
disbelief that bring shadows and darkness.
Never think the Cross is merely a
relic of ancient horror or punishment; it is proof of God’s love and
righteousness. I pray for the courage –
and joy – to live at its foot.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) uses the shorthand “E91” for East 91st
Street Christian Church, but you likely already know that. Oh…and pray for the
Pharisees.
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