By Dr. Kevin Payne, Palmerdale UMC
Christians across the denominational spectrum hold the cross of Christ as the act of salvation. But somehow what we as Christians profess to be most sacred about the atonement of the Christ is forgotten in the rhetoric of today. Somehow we fail to connect the power of the cross with everyday living.
We want to blame our social ills on a definite cause. We want a quick diagnosis, and even quicker treatment. The clinical counseling term is the “Identified Patient.” This is the person, people, or group upon whom we cast our blame. In this we baptize our views as righteous while demonizing all who are opposed.
The wrong that I see with this is not in the opposing views. We do need to speak out for what we believe, and against what we consider to be mistaken. But when we slip into outright condemning people or groups as beyond the reach of God, then we have abandoned and forsaken the foundation to what we hold as sacred.
The gospel account of St. John summarizes the reason for and power of the cross most succinctly and eloquently from the lips of Jesus himself. John 3:16-17 states: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (NRSV Translation)
We love the notion that this passage proclaims to us God’s love. But so often we only interpret it as “for us,” rather than hearing it proclaim that God loves “the world.” This is the whole world, and everyone in it. And we frankly ignore John 3:17 that teaches us that Christ came not to condemn, but rather to save.
But why do we struggle with this so? Because it is easier to condemn than it is to love. It is more gratifying to strike back than turn the other cheek. It is simpler to reject than to hear.
This is not a call to accept everything and disavow what we as Christians hold as true. But it is a call to follow after the example of Jesus, whom we proclaim as our Savior and Lord, and submit to the cross as he carried it. Demonizing, slandering, and rejecting will not bring the people of the world to our God. It will only push them farther away.
Christ issued an invitation, not an ultimatum. The cross provides the way for the invitation to be received. If it is true that God so loved the world that God sent God’s Son, not in condemnation but in salvation, then why are we so busy rejecting and demonizing the world Christ died to save?