Yeah, I know. It's been a really long time since I blogged. But there are times I just need to write stuff down and know where I can find it again. I'm going to try this again.
This past week I've been reflecting on something I read by Scotty Smith about the nature of Christianity:
According to Emil Brunner, the Swiss theologian, "All other religions spare us the ultimate humiliation of being stripped naked and being declared bankrupt before God." That's pretty strong language. And yet it points to the humiliating nature of Christianity. All the other world religions don't treat humanity with such pessimism. In all other schools of thought, we have something to bring to the table. We can strive toward God and meet Him, and in a sense, be congratulated when we do.
Not Christianity.
In Christianity, we bring nothing to the table. In fact, the only thing we bring to the equation of salvation is the sin we need to be rescued from. Perhaps that's why, if we look back into history, Christianity has been called the religion of women and slaves. In cultures of the past, neither of those two groups had many rights, so it wasn't a far stretch for them to admit their abject need of God's complete and total intervention on their behalf.
The bottom line is this: The one character flaw that has, and will continue, to most keep people from Christ is not greed. It's not lust. It's not lying or stealing or killing. It's pride. Until we see ourselves as one of these people - the ones that are in great need - this messiah is not for us.
The message of Jesus cuts us at the knees before it lifts us at the soul.
This past week I've been reflecting on something I read by Scotty Smith about the nature of Christianity:
According to Emil Brunner, the Swiss theologian, "All other religions spare us the ultimate humiliation of being stripped naked and being declared bankrupt before God." That's pretty strong language. And yet it points to the humiliating nature of Christianity. All the other world religions don't treat humanity with such pessimism. In all other schools of thought, we have something to bring to the table. We can strive toward God and meet Him, and in a sense, be congratulated when we do.
Not Christianity.
In Christianity, we bring nothing to the table. In fact, the only thing we bring to the equation of salvation is the sin we need to be rescued from. Perhaps that's why, if we look back into history, Christianity has been called the religion of women and slaves. In cultures of the past, neither of those two groups had many rights, so it wasn't a far stretch for them to admit their abject need of God's complete and total intervention on their behalf.
The bottom line is this: The one character flaw that has, and will continue, to most keep people from Christ is not greed. It's not lust. It's not lying or stealing or killing. It's pride. Until we see ourselves as one of these people - the ones that are in great need - this messiah is not for us.
The message of Jesus cuts us at the knees before it lifts us at the soul.
