WHAT IS THE LIGHT? WHAT IS THE DARKNESS?
The light of forgiveness erupted from the darkness of the Crucifixion to create the best approximation of God in the Valley of Tears - a first class, high fidelity approximation.
“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matthew 4:16) (2 Peter 1:19).
What is the light? What is the darkness? We supplied the darkness. Jesus supplied the light.
DARKNESS: The sharp teeth of the Crucifixion chewed Jesus up into bits and pieces. The tongue of the Crucifixion, however, was sharper than its teeth. It whispered virulent anti-god propaganda into the ear of Jesus. “Where is your savior now?”, the tongue of the Crucifixion taunted Jesus. “Despair! Abandon hope! You are alone and forsaken. Nobody is coming to rescue you” (Matthew 27:42 - 46). While Jesus was being masticated into bits and pieces in the mouth of his Cross, the weight of a missing savior became extremely heavy for him. Each bite of his Cross amplified the heaviness of the anti-God propaganda. The absence of a savior pushed Jesus to the edge of despair. He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me"(Matthew 27:46)?
THE LINK BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT: How his forsaken cry (Matthew 27:46) must have broken his father’s heart! Yet, God the Father held back his saving hand to give God the Son the opportunity to reveal the true identity of God to the children of Adam and Eve. Our evil was both brutal and lethal. Jesus answered the evil that we did to him. In his answer to the evil that we did to him, Jesus made God known to us. His answer to our evil was the means that Jesus used to put into our possession of a first class, high fidelity understanding of God. Indeed, God the Father wanted to save his Son from the very first bite of the sharp teeth of his Cross. However, the most Holy Trinity also wanted the children of Adam and Eve to come to know their God. The most Holy Trinity decided that the best way to reveal God to us was in an awesome and spectacular display of fireworks. So, the light of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47) erupted out of the darkness of the Crucifixion.
LIGHT: In answer to the evil that we did to him, Jesus forgave us (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47). The gift of forgiveness that Jesus gave to us is a detail whose significance is often overlooked when we contemplate the events that took place on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. We gloss over it. Yet, forgiveness is the incandescent truth that erupted from the darkness of the Crucifixion to illuminate the darkness of our understanding of God in a glorious burst of epiphany. Our evil served as the wicked midwife who delivered from the darkness into the light an upgraded understanding of God - a high fidelity, first class approximation of God. The darkness of the Crucifixion was the foil in which God set the light of forgiveness. THE EDIFICE OF CHRISTIANITY IS BUILT UPON JESUS’S ANSWER TO THE EVIL THAT WE DID TO HIM. HIS RESPONSE IS THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15)
Our job is to propagate the light of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47) that erupted from the darkness of the Crucifixion. Our job is to pick up and carry the torch of salvation from then and there, across space and time, to the children of Adam and Eve here and now.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)
In the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), the light that separates itself from the darkness is the light of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47). Let us exit the darkness and dwell in the light.
Note: God is not interested in getting us into heaven. God is interested in getting heaven into us (Luke 17:21). God is not trying to turn the Valley of Tears into a kinder, gentler, more hospitable place for godless people to live. God wants to turn godless people into people of God (Luke 17:21). Godlessness is a sinking ship (Mark 4:35-39). We are its passengers. The Church is its crew. God gave the Church a rescue mission. However, the rescue mission that God gave the Church is not to save the ship. The rescue mission that God gave the Church is to save the passengers. To the lifeboats! To the lifeboats! Abandon ship! Abandon ship! IF THE EXIGENCY IS NOT FELT, THE CHURCH IS NOT DOING A GOOD JOB.
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