I have been reflecting much on the nature of Christianity. Quite obviously, the religion in itself is much backwards in the eyes of culture. There are not many other ideas prevalent in society that encourage the worship of a man who was crucified. The encouragement for improving your heavenly "status" is to take up your cross, deny the things that you wish to do most, and follow the man who leads us to the crucifix. The mark of a Christian is a cruciform life. It means that as Christians we are meant for something greater than a life of external comfort and situational happiness.
In Philippians 3 Paul writes that he considers EVERYTHING loss for the sake of knowing Christ...and he goes on to write one of the strangest passages in history v. 8-10 ff.- "...For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death..."
Paul says he has lost everything in his life and it matters not, because he has gained God and righteousness and even more, through this suffering, he has shared in the fellowship of the suffering of Christ. I am not aware of any other religion that has this approach to life. The ascetics do life without "pleasure" trying to isolate themselves from indulgences of the flesh, but they are hardly making the same statement as Paul here.
Some of the foremost persecutors of Christianity claim that the greatest unanswered question in the universe is how do Christians explain pain and loss in the world. The answer, I'm afraid, is not an easy one. It is not simply that God justly punishes in this life those that deserve it, and all those who live faithfully are rewarded by happy circumstances. The answer is this: Human suffering is an act of God in isolating the spirit of a man and calling him into fellowship with the Son. When Jesus Christ died on the cross he uttered the words, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Not because God turned his back on him, like many believe...but because the God man, only familiar with living in the direct presence of the father, was quoting Psalm 22 in death. It is not a moment of weakness in his spirit, it is a word of encouragement for all believers from that point forward. Those 9 words will change our view of suffering for eternity (or at least, should change our view). When the human spirit loses all things and sinks to the deepest possible point it is generally overcome with the sense of loneliness, fear, and depression. These words change that perception if we are willing to see that in that moment of sadness, loneliness, fear, depression, or bitterness Christ is there. Christ's act of humility in leaving heaven to save all of us puts him in a place of suffering that we can only meet, we cannot exceed. And so by suffering, Christians are uniting with Christ. When we lose all things we are by default in a place of Spirit where there is only Christ, and he is seen with more clarity and resolve than at any other point in the Christian life.
So how do we respond to suffering? Realize this- God is not in the seat of judgment punishing you for sin. He is there, he is calling you...he bids you come, die, and find true life in him that can be touched by nothing.
"Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:25-26
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2 comments:
You are correct, my friend. Christianity stands in defiance of culture's undertanding. His calling is not to a life of complete material blessing as some culturally prominent "preachers" (and i do use that term lightly) would have us believe. He calls us take up our cross, and follow Him. Last I checked the only place He took His cross was to death. Why would anybody sign up for that? For a culture, plagued by the desire for instant gratification, this is the ultimate in craziness.
It's fascinating to me how the message has been obstructed over the years though. Does anyone else find it odd that the fathers of the church were all killed, hated, poor, homeless, crazy men and yet we are "contextualizing" our way into light hearted riches saying, 'Hey, God blessed me!' Someone find that in Scripture. I can't see it anywhere.
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