Wrapping Up (11/30/02-12/17/02)
It's taken several days now to review what's been uncovered in this study. It will doubtless take several more to put together these final thoughts. In many ways, I've found my reflections turning back to my original considerations. With each reflection, though, those considerations seem to have taken on more shape. And, there have also been new things to contemplate. In this last section, then, I have been reviewing those things that struck me in the course of the last month, collecting what seem to me to be key points, and trying to organize them into some sensible form.
Of my original points to consider, both the topic of idolatry vs. symbology, and the topic of the crossroads have come up repeatedly. One of the two etymology trails I had thought to pursue turned out to be non-existent, and the other (crucial) while interesting, was not as revealing as I had hoped. New topics that I feel deserve further comment at this point include God's purposes, and what we learn about the true Way of the Cross. Finally, there are a series of mental images that have come out during this study that I think deserve at least being collected in one spot, and perhaps deserve further development.
Cross as Symbol (12/7/02-12/9/02)
This is what determines whether the cross, or Christianity in general, has become an idol for us: Why are we doing these things? If we are purchasing these Christian trinkets, we must ask ourselves why. If we insist that all our books and music have the Christian endorsement, but we are not actively testing the content, we have allowed that endorsement to become an idol for us. Listen, this is not to suggest that Christian themes in our literary and musical selections are a bad thing. No, it's not even to suggest that surrounding ourselves with reminders of faith is a bad thing. God's word instructed His people to surround themselves with reminders of His word. Write them on your doorposts, on your hands, anywhere that they can catch your eye, so that you can be constantly reminded through the day of My instructions.
But is that our reason? The Pharisees were meticulous about following through on this particular rule. They had little boxes to tie to their arms with Scriptures inside, little boxes to tie around their heads, to dangle Scriptures on their foreheads. But, there were (at least) two problems with this. First, the instruction was not to put Scripture in a box where it couldn't be read, but to have it displayed out in the open where it couldn't help but be read. Secondly, the motivation was out of order. There was no longer any thought behind the process that sought to stay focused on God. The focus had shifted to mere display. Rather than seeking to be righteous, the were seeking merely to look righteous.
The cross, like these earlier symbols of the chosen people, is quite capable of becoming idol rather than symbol. The moment we lose sight of its purpose, of its meaning, and allow ourselves to focus on the thing itself, we have entered the danger zone. The moment we allow ourselves to shift from the why of worship to the how, from worshiping in spirit and truth to the mechanics of worship, we have entered the danger zone. The mechanics of worship are important, but they cannot be the focus. The cross is important. It has great significance to us both because of its singular place in history as the instrument of God's earthly death, and because of its place in our Lord's teaching. If we seek to keep our perspective on the cross proper, His teaching is certainly a good place to look.
What did His teaching say? It said nothing about contemplating the cross. It said nothing about worshiping the cross. It said nothing about marking your belongings with a cross. His instruction was simple: Bear your cross and follow. This was not the cross as we know it today that He spoke of. It was not a call to put on a piece of jewelry that would make you identifiable to other Christians in the area. It was a call to take up the cross of that time, with the same suffering, the same implications, that any who would have been carrying a cross in that day would have experienced.
But, it is not just any cross He calls His disciples to bear. It is the shared cross of Christ. Suffering, in itself, does not mark a disciple. Humiliation and peculiarity do not uniquely declare one a Christian. It isn't just any cross He calls for us to take up, it is His cross, which He tells us is also our own. In part, in this teaching of Jesus, God was calling His people to return to their purpose. God had called Israel out of all nations to be a unique people, a noticeably different people. He called Israel to be monotheistic in the midst of a polytheistic culture. He called Israel to be free of idols in a world where idols cluttered every house, field, and forest. He called Israel to be a theocracy amidst monarchies. Jesus was calling His disciples to return to that clearly distinctive place. Take up your cross. Let everything you do, in the way that you do it, declare that you are a stranger in this land. Let your ways make clear that something 'other' this way comes.
There was also a call to return to the prophetic role in what Jesus asked of His disciples. Consider those prophets who had been the tool of Israel's correction for so long. These men were constantly being called on to become living parables before Israel's site. Marry a harlot, that Israel might see their own harlotry. Break your staff in their sight, that they might hear the covenant breaking because of their actions. Carry your cross, that they might see that the way to Life will require death.
Then, of course, Jesus was calling His disciples to be ready, willing, and able to endure whatever might come their way as they committed themselves to the course of Christianity. The call and the cost haven't changed. We are still called back to uniqueness, God still wants a peculiar people. But He doesn't want a bunch of weirdoes. What is to mark His children as peculiar is His presence, is the righteousness He is producing inside that cannot help but show outside. The call is still to carry His prophetic message to the people, to declare the day of salvation and the day of judgment, to be the responsible watchmen who will warn the lost of their condition, and guide those who are sought to the Redeemer. We are still called to be ready, willing, and able to face whatever may come in the course of our service to God. We are not called to be offensive, but we are warned that offense will come. We are not called to seek out persecution, to chase after martyrdom, but we are warned that persecutions will come, that martyrdom may come. And we are called to be prepared to face these situations faithfully. Should this be our lot in God's plan, Jesus is telling us to be as willing to go through that pain as He was to go through His.
The cost hasn't changed. True faith will cost everything you have, every desire, every right, every earthly relationship. The change that He brings in us is just too drastic for old associations to survive. Count the cost, we are told. Don't make an uninformed decision, and don't ignore the data as you decide. If you step out on this course, you can no longer concern yourself with the approval of men, you can no longer concern yourself with getting ahead. It's all about God. This is carrying the cross. Walking as a man marked for death, marked as an alien and a slave. Walking in humiliation in this world's eyes, despised and ridiculed, yet never retaliating in kind. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. This is the promise. As we humble ourselves before Him, as we submit to willing service in His purposes, it may very well lead to worldly humiliation. It may well lead to earthly hardships. It may well destroy family ties. Count the cost. Look to the end result, and see its immeasurable worth. Count the cost, and then either commit completely or don't even tag along.
It's time for an accounting. Do we know the cross of which Scripture speaks? Is this the cross we contemplate? Or have we fallen for a worldly substitute? I, too, have been known to put a bumper sticker on the car, a pin on my briefcase, or some other token of identification as a Christian. Yet, this is a lesser charge. There's a greater problem to face up to. As bad as it is to take up the wrong cross, it's just as bad to refuse to take up the cross of Christ, to truly stand up and be counted as His, to face the trials, the pain, and the humiliation that may come of taking such a stand.
Have we done this? Have I done this? I know I've failed any number of times in this aspect of boldly declaring my faith. As much as I love You, Lord, the world continues to have a hold on my ways. Forgive me. Change me. Bring that boldness that's willing to declare Your truth wherever a lie comes up, whoever may speak the lie. Bring that boldness to me that will defend the truth of Your Word, that will more than defend, but will carry the battle to the enemy's gates. Bring me that boldness and compassion that will refuse to leave my fellow man in his darkness. Make of me a warrior of Your light, Lord, proud to bear Your banner, and willing to face whatever may come. Father God, You are indeed looking for a few good men to serve You. I pray that You will make of my weak nature such a man as You seek.
When the cross is in proper perspective, it is a powerful description of our mission. We are to bear the burden of being witness to God's truth, even as Jesus did. In the face of the world's derision, the burden of this witness will seem intensely cruel, unbearable. But, I remind myself again, that the burden we are called to bear is that same burden He has already borne, He is bearing still. It is possible. It is possible to face the daily crises of decision and consistently choose life. It is possible! The life of righteousness is possible, because we have not been left alone to carry this burden. The Holy Spirit is within us, teaching us how to lift properly, how to live properly. And our Lord and Savior is in the throne room of God, interceding on our behalf, still bearing the brunt of the load we carry in His name.
The cross, then, should not represent to us our goal and destination, but our passport and our path. The cross is the stamp upon us that declares us aliens and strangers to this world we live in. Like a foreign tourist, we are in it, but not of it. And, also like that foreign tourist, it should not require a brandishing of some visible passport to make our foreign status evident. The passport is not something intended to be waved in the face of every person we meet. It is a means of identification, a clear and official marking of our alien status, stating with equal clarity the kingdom to which we truly belong.
But in the world, the passport is only required for officialdom. The foreign traveler is easy enough to identify without this. His accent, his odd habits, his way of going through the day, will all set him apart as something different, something peculiar. For the Christian, the person called out to be God's peculiar person, the distinction will be equally evident. Our calm in crises, our peaceful word into a heated situation, our true and genuine loving concern for each other, and for these natives around us; all these things will declare our true citizenship to be elsewhere. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - the fruits of the Spirit within us - must be evident outside of us. These are clues to the surrounding world that something different has come among them. "Love one another," Jesus told His disciples. "By this, the world will know that God sent Me, and that He loves you just as He loves Me."
There's the burden we are to carry! There's the true stamp of our native land! Love one another, fully and truly, with no regard for class, race, age, intelligence, or any other 'distinctive.' Love one another with a wholehearted love. Walk in unity even in your diversity, and the world will not be able to help but know that He in whom you stand so united is truly God, and that His love for this fallen world is truly love.
God paid a great price to make us citizens of His kingdom. Bear the stamp of your citizenship proudly, that the world may know He lives!