Brian Stoffregen shares this story:
There were two brothers in Georgia during the 1950's. One decided that in opposition to the dominant culture of the day, he was going to support and participate in the formation of a multi-ethnic community. The other worked as an attorney for a prominent law firm. Both were Christians and attended church regularly. As the multi-ethnic community formed and social pressure forced them into court proceedings, the one brother asked his attorney brother to help them with the legal work. The brother refused, saying that he could lose his job. The pressure increased to help with a reminder that he was a Christian. The lawyer responded, "I will follow Jesus to his cross, but it is his cross. I have no need to be crucified." To this his brother replied, "Then you are an admirer of Jesus, but not his disciple."
[Original post can be found here.]
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Ichabod
A while back I heard a story from a church in the deep South. Every Sunday morning they gathered to give God thanks for the grace that accomplished their salvation. Every Sunday morning they prayed that God would help them be a witness of holiness in their community. But when one of their board members got word that the pastor had witnessed to an African-American couple, and invited them to worship the next Sunday . . . Well, the board member pulled the pastor aside and said:
"Don’t expect me to be back if you invite them. If they show up in this church you might just as well write ICHABOD above the door—God’s Spirit has departed from this place."
I heard that story and thought, “Oh no, you don’t need to worry about writing ‘Ichabod’ above the door. It has already been written.”
None of the folks in that church were planning an execution on their way to church the next Sunday. It wasn’t that direct. But when you assassinate the purposes of God one day, and show up to hand out bulletins and help take the offering the next day, you might just as well crucify Christ again. Week after week Christ is crucified all over again by sincere religious folks who assassinate the purposes of God and still manage to make it to worship on time without a drop of blood on them.
[from Preacher's Magazine:
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Message of the Cross
Two brothers, who had never agreed on much of anything, finally had a conversation about the thing they agreed on least of all:
“The message of the cross is foolishness!” said one brother. “And you, my brother, are a fool! You claim allegiance to this God who came to earth and lived among us. But what happened to him, in the end? He was crucified! On a cross! First they beat him until the blood covered him. Then they took nails and drove them into his wrists. They put him up on a cross to die a slow, humiliating death. And he died.
I ask you, what kind of God is that? What kind of God cannot even save himself from a human execution?
I’ll grant you that this Jesus of yours was an influential man in his time. Sure, he spoke like a prophet and gathered a following. But look at what happened at the end. Your precious Bible tells you that even his closest followers deserted him. Because they saw the truth of his weakness. They saw that it all ended on a cross. What kind of a God is that? And what kind of a fool are you?”
His brother replied, “You are right, my brother. I am a fool. What you say makes perfect sense, and no eloquent words from me will change that. But I know that the message of the cross is the power of God. Because I know that only an extraordinary God would allow himself to be crucified. Only a God who loved humanity so deeply would refrain from saving himself. Only a God whose power is unimaginable would allow himself to be killed in this way. You are right. It makes no sense. But that is the power of the cross. And you are wrong, so wrong, my brother, when you say that it all ended on a cross.”
“The message of the cross is foolishness!” said one brother. “And you, my brother, are a fool! You claim allegiance to this God who came to earth and lived among us. But what happened to him, in the end? He was crucified! On a cross! First they beat him until the blood covered him. Then they took nails and drove them into his wrists. They put him up on a cross to die a slow, humiliating death. And he died.
I ask you, what kind of God is that? What kind of God cannot even save himself from a human execution?
I’ll grant you that this Jesus of yours was an influential man in his time. Sure, he spoke like a prophet and gathered a following. But look at what happened at the end. Your precious Bible tells you that even his closest followers deserted him. Because they saw the truth of his weakness. They saw that it all ended on a cross. What kind of a God is that? And what kind of a fool are you?”
His brother replied, “You are right, my brother. I am a fool. What you say makes perfect sense, and no eloquent words from me will change that. But I know that the message of the cross is the power of God. Because I know that only an extraordinary God would allow himself to be crucified. Only a God who loved humanity so deeply would refrain from saving himself. Only a God whose power is unimaginable would allow himself to be killed in this way. You are right. It makes no sense. But that is the power of the cross. And you are wrong, so wrong, my brother, when you say that it all ended on a cross.”
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