A Violent Confrontation between Creature and Creator
A violent confrontation took place on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection between creature and creator. During the violent confrontation, creature and creator were juxtaposed against each other to make concrete the meaning of (Isaiah 55:8-9). We did evil to him; but, he did not do evil to us. We supplied the violence to our confrontation with him; but, he did not. We sinned against him; but, he did not sin against us. His love for us stayed his hand. We lit the fuse to the bomb of revenge, retaliation and retribution. But it did not detonate. Love made it a dud. The juxtaposition of creature and creator revealed the radical and perfect asymmetry between us and our God. Identical twins we are not. Dissimilar in the extreme are we. Creator is superior to creature in the same way and to the same extent that the presence of love is superior to its absence. He is superior because he loves us despite the depth of our difference - despite the abyss between our God and us. His love for us is the bridge over the abyss. Take the bridge from death to life. From God’s heart, our hearts receive a transfusion of love. The transfusion of love is invigorating. It vivifies us. It brings the dead to life. The location of the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:20-21). When we fill our hearts to the brim with love, we are born again into the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). Rise from the dead. Become born again! Drink in the love that pours out of the most sacred heart of his beloved Son. Imbibe! Become intoxicated with it! Love deifies us.
Two Sticks were Rubbed Together on the Road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection to Ignite the Fire of Truth
On the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection, two sticks were rubbed together: 1) Jesus and 2) the evil that we did to him. The fire of truth that erupted from the friction of the violent encounter illuminates the darkness of our understanding of God in a glorious burst of epiphany.It is the means by which God turns sinners into saints.. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
The Challenge of Our Crosses
Our crosses poke holes in our hearts when they nail themselves to us. They punctuate our hearts. Buckets of blood pass through the holes and out of our bodies. Our very lives themselves are carried out of our bodies through the holes on a cataract of blood. But what else? What about the important stuff? What about the content of our hearts?
Our crosses are the serpent's inquisition . They are his inquisitors.
The holes are question marks. Our crosses are putting us to the test. They are interrogating us. They are asking us a question. It is a simple question. What type of creature are you? Who are you? Identify yourself.
Are you God or are you a beast?
Our crosses have the malign power to drain our hearts of love.
Do we permit them to do so? Do we let our crosses transmogrify us into the most hideous and miserable of loveless beasts. Or do we deny ourselves? Do we resist? Do we refuse? Do we defiantly say, 'No!' to our crosses. Do we keep our hearts filled to the brim with love?
The challenge of the Cross is the only significant question that each of us is called upon to answer during the course of our lives. Nothing else matters but the answer to this question.
God presents us with the challenge of the Cross as we pass through the Valley of Tears in the hope that we will transform ourselves into creatures who love. He is not interested in transforming us into creatures who follow a book of rules . He is not interested in transforming us into creatures who are obedient. He is not interested in transforming us into a flock of docile sheep . God isn't such a small thinker. He has a higher goal and a bigger plan for us. He is only interested in transforming us into creatures who love - like himself .
No challenge; no transformation.
Love deifies us. Therefore, Jesus wants us to download love from the Cross of Christ and, with it, fill our hearts . Download and install. The Cross of Christ is the Github of heaven at which the source code for success in life is kept.