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Dear One,
Last week I took some
time to clean out the drawers of one of our filing cabinets here in the
ministry office. During my late-but-better-than-never spring cleaning
effort, I found old pictures that made me smile, scraps of paper with
phone numbers I didn’t recognize, file folders that had been used one
too many times and one very old “miscellaneous” file.
Among the
miscellaneous papers of that file, I re-discovered a Christian track
that had been given to me years ago. It was simply but tastefully done
and portrayed Jesus as The Bridge. I sat down on the floor of the office
and began to flip through the pages of the track. It was when I read,
“The cross of Jesus Christ is a bridge over the canyon of sin”, I
began to feel uncomfortable about all this talk about bridges and Jesus.
Now don’t hear me
putting down the author’s enthusiasm or his love for Jesus. I’m sure
that he had the best of intentions when he wrote the material. Holy
smokes, I probably handed those tracks out by the truckload! But that
was then and this is now. And I’m convinced that this kind of
depiction of the cross sells His finished work short.
How can I say that?
Well, all you need to do is spend some time with folks who are confused
by and in bondage to this portrayal of Jesus to understand what I mean.
And, if by chance you haven’t been around these folks or have never
been one yourself, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Most of the
time they’re afraid, anxious and angry. Why? Because they’ve been
told they need to believe in a Jesus that has been presented as the
overpass, the gangplank for their “sin” problem. YIKES!
Stop for a minute and
consider this question: Which portrayal of Jesus is more impressive
(i.e., powerful, trustworthy, mighty, worthy of praise)? The Jesus
Christ who is presented as a bridge that spans a “sin” gap between
man and God OR the Jesus Christ who has totally removed the “sin”
separation between man and God? Hmmm, let’s see. Which one is it - the
Jesus who is “a structure spanning and providing passage over a gap or
barrier” (Webster’s Dictionary) or the Jesus who has brought both
sides of the “sin” chasm crashing together by His resurrection power
(the Bible)?
The cross did more
than just bridge the “sin” gap – Christ removed it. That’s
right. Jesus Christ has eliminated, removed, and annihilated any
separation between God and man. There is no need for a bridge. Why?
Because there is no longer any separation!
Dear friends, people
need to know this truth! They really don’t want the diluted, slighted
or tastefully done version of Jesus. In the stillness of the night,
lying in the middle of their doubts, folks want to know that He’s
true. They’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. They want real
comfort, unwavering security and eternal hope. They don’t want an
illustration and they don’t want a bridge. They want the Almighty, the
Deliverer, the Just One, the Highest and. . .
“Behold the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world! ” John
1:29
I love you,
Marcy
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