Lately more than normal my mind has been going to the Cross. The story of a man, born to die an untimely and brutal death is a compelling one. I was reading a bit in Erwin McManus' book Soul Cravings about the love that Christ has for us. I put that book down a little over a year ago and today I found it sitting in the floorboards of my car and decided to read a bit of it. The book is disjointed, and I remembered why I put it down in the first place, but it took me back to the cross.
Speaking of Christ's compassion, his love for us and the reason he had to come down as a human and die in order to save us, is because there wasn't any one else he could send to do it. An angel could not be that sacrifice, the bulls, rams and birds? they were only temporary. Christ came to put an end to the separation between man and God once and for all.
Now what does this have to do with Religion putting Jesus on the Cross.
I take it to heart when I hear things come from super conservatives. I grew up super conservative and I've seen how it destroys lives. How the legalism and stumbling blocks (which we are told NOT to be) that are set up in Christ's name sake has driven people from the cross instead of to it. I'm not going to take a blog to point fingers. As reminded by Chris we are to speak the truth in love, and it would not be love to sit and bash.
This whole concept of legalism and super conservatism reminds me of the Jews and their failure to see Christ as the answer to scripture. They were so stuck in their scrolls that they could not see the deity of God emanating from this man. God was to come back with a strong hand to rule the world they thought. He was going to come and rid them of the Romans. So when Jesus showed up on the scene in his pure white robe, blue sash, conditioned flowing hair and well groomed beard...oh wait. I'm pretty sure he wasn't your grandma's picture. Are you kidding? The Christ was a man. He got dirty, he smelled, he probably looked bad. He couldn't be the king. In fact most of the religious idiots in those days said Jesus was possessed by a demon.
It didn't take long for those idiots to stir up a hornets nest. The Romans could care less about Jesus, that is until the religous pius pitched a fit and refused to be moved until they were appeased. This religion, which was because of God's love, was rejected, turned into a self loving system, and turned against the very one who initiated it. This religion, it put Jesus on the cross.
I am sad to say that today...my religion also put's Jesus on the cross.
Romans 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
Many of what religion, or church sets up as "right" or "righteous" today begins with good in mind. Evil lies close at hand. It is that evil, that sin nature, that has put Christ on the cross.
Each sin is what put Christ on that cross. My religion, it put Christ on that cross. My sin, it put Him there. Those lead astray or kept behind because of their religion, that is what has put Christ on the cross. Sin across time was heaped upon Jesus at this one moment in order to completely forgive you once and for all. His love kept Him on that cross.
Thankfully it did not end there.
Christ entered the grave, defeated death and rose to give us new life. From this point we are not enslaved to sin. We have an option to get out. Our sin nature is still in full effect fighting us at every turn, but we've got an option. We can walk away because our sin, it was already dealt with.
So stop worrying about the spec in your brothers eye. I've got a log in mine I'm trying to pull out. I'll worry about that for now thanks. Maybe you ought to try and get rid of yours too.
