One of my pet peeves is the wooden image of Jesus on a cross. I see it everywhere - hospital walls, street corners, bracelets, necklaces, rosaries, etc. It depresses and infuriates me in so many levels, very personal levels. Psychologically, venting is a good way to release harmful stress, so here goes:
First, it reminds me that humanity was a lost race, a failed experiment by God (remember Noah's Ark, the ultimate "back to the drawing board" moment). We are neck-deep in sin, which is not what most people think. Sin is our separation from God, willfully or subconsciously. You and I may not have committed the crimes worthy of capital punishment, but where is God when you check your email? Where is God when you go to work? School? Wherever? Whatever? Do you think about God at all? OK, do you think about God all the time, or is it just when you're sick, depressed, worried, angry or afraid? And if you're thinking God should NOT be in every aspect of our life, then you know you're a sinner. Because an ex-angel formerly known as Lucifer once said the same thing... and everyone who doesn't like God in the center ring of their lives can keep Lucifer (now called Satan) company in a little place God created to honor that free choice. The place is called Hell, and it's basically where God is not. Then came Jesus. You may know the story leading up to the wooden cross, but that's where most people stop... and that's what angers me. When people look at the broken figure mounted on their wall or dangling on their neck or limb, they sigh, get more depressed, probably do a sign of the Cross, then go about the rest of their day. I would like to ask any random person what they know about Jesus, and they would probably point to any one of the countless crucifixes in the world, and then I would like to shout, "WRONG!" and then tear the wooden man off the cross. BECAUSE HE'S NOT THERE ANYMORE.
Second: What did Jesus do that made him better than Buddha, or Muhammad, or the Pope, or the millions of so-called "gods"? Answer: He lived, died, THEN LIVED AGAIN. Read that sentence again. Slowly. Now look at the cross. Or one of those Christmas manger scenes. Or all the tombs in Jerusalem. Look at the Pope with his staff waving at the crowd - an old, albeit healthy man, with his Lord on a stick. So the choices are: "helpless, destitute baby in a feeding trough," or "shish kebobbed Savior"?!? Is there something wrong with this picture? Would YOU like to be remembered as the "rather heavy baby" or the "one in the handcarved mahogany casket"?
The King has left the building! And people don't seem to know that, or they got stuck at the cross. Or if they do, they don't think about it that often.
Oh you do, do you? Did you know that when Jesus died on the cross, He took YOUR punishment for divorcing God? When God gives you life and you think you're a "self-made" person, you think God doesn't have a right to take life back? You think you can save yourself? Did you think you created yourself? When Jesus died on the cross, He took YOUR Fall. Then He made sure that life will stick forever, by conquering death and resurrecting, fully restored, after three days of decomposition. Did you know that when Jesus lived again, He was showing you that death is no longer a fear factor? That Jesus, not Brad Pitt, was the first to send the message, "Immortality! Take it! It's yours!"
I bet you can recite John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." If that isn't transparently clear to you, I'll summarize. Believe Jesus (first, you might want to read the Bible to get a clue on who he is and what he did) and have a guaranteed ticket to Heaven, OR don't believe and...well.
Oh, you don't believe Jesus? You don't believe anything I said about Him or anything He claims to have done? That's OK. God gave us all free will. He cordially and freely allows you to GO TO HELL, where everyone else who ignored or rejected their Creator goes. God will of course remind you one day that you chose your destiny, with or without Him. And you will live with the consequences of your choice.
Forever.
First, it reminds me that humanity was a lost race, a failed experiment by God (remember Noah's Ark, the ultimate "back to the drawing board" moment). We are neck-deep in sin, which is not what most people think. Sin is our separation from God, willfully or subconsciously. You and I may not have committed the crimes worthy of capital punishment, but where is God when you check your email? Where is God when you go to work? School? Wherever? Whatever? Do you think about God at all? OK, do you think about God all the time, or is it just when you're sick, depressed, worried, angry or afraid? And if you're thinking God should NOT be in every aspect of our life, then you know you're a sinner. Because an ex-angel formerly known as Lucifer once said the same thing... and everyone who doesn't like God in the center ring of their lives can keep Lucifer (now called Satan) company in a little place God created to honor that free choice. The place is called Hell, and it's basically where God is not. Then came Jesus. You may know the story leading up to the wooden cross, but that's where most people stop... and that's what angers me. When people look at the broken figure mounted on their wall or dangling on their neck or limb, they sigh, get more depressed, probably do a sign of the Cross, then go about the rest of their day. I would like to ask any random person what they know about Jesus, and they would probably point to any one of the countless crucifixes in the world, and then I would like to shout, "WRONG!" and then tear the wooden man off the cross. BECAUSE HE'S NOT THERE ANYMORE.
Second: What did Jesus do that made him better than Buddha, or Muhammad, or the Pope, or the millions of so-called "gods"? Answer: He lived, died, THEN LIVED AGAIN. Read that sentence again. Slowly. Now look at the cross. Or one of those Christmas manger scenes. Or all the tombs in Jerusalem. Look at the Pope with his staff waving at the crowd - an old, albeit healthy man, with his Lord on a stick. So the choices are: "helpless, destitute baby in a feeding trough," or "shish kebobbed Savior"?!? Is there something wrong with this picture? Would YOU like to be remembered as the "rather heavy baby" or the "one in the handcarved mahogany casket"?
The King has left the building! And people don't seem to know that, or they got stuck at the cross. Or if they do, they don't think about it that often.
Oh you do, do you? Did you know that when Jesus died on the cross, He took YOUR punishment for divorcing God? When God gives you life and you think you're a "self-made" person, you think God doesn't have a right to take life back? You think you can save yourself? Did you think you created yourself? When Jesus died on the cross, He took YOUR Fall. Then He made sure that life will stick forever, by conquering death and resurrecting, fully restored, after three days of decomposition. Did you know that when Jesus lived again, He was showing you that death is no longer a fear factor? That Jesus, not Brad Pitt, was the first to send the message, "Immortality! Take it! It's yours!"
I bet you can recite John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." If that isn't transparently clear to you, I'll summarize. Believe Jesus (first, you might want to read the Bible to get a clue on who he is and what he did) and have a guaranteed ticket to Heaven, OR don't believe and...well.
Oh, you don't believe Jesus? You don't believe anything I said about Him or anything He claims to have done? That's OK. God gave us all free will. He cordially and freely allows you to GO TO HELL, where everyone else who ignored or rejected their Creator goes. God will of course remind you one day that you chose your destiny, with or without Him. And you will live with the consequences of your choice.
Forever.
