The Pastor’s Blog – THRU THE LENS OF THE CROSS
What would our world look like if we viewed it through the lens of the cross?
What do I mean by that? Simply this: instead of looking at the world through the lens CNN gives us, or Global TV, or YouTube, what if we actually tried to see the world as God might see it? The cross speaks to us of a God who not only loves the world, but also is willing to sacrifice Himself for those he loves. In John 15:13-14 we read:
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.…”
Jesus spoke those words not long before he went to a cross to die as the price paid to rescue us from the curse of sin and the punishment we deserved because of our sins. Jesus would lay down his life for his friends, and the Good News of the Gospel is this: we are all called to be the friends of God through faith in Jesus. As the modern Gospel song says, “I am a friend of God!” We can sing this with great awe and wonder because it is true. “God so loved the world…” That includes us!
So to view the world through the cross, through the eyes of Jesus, our God, we must see it through a lens of love. In the verse just before those quoted above, we read,
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
So instead of seeing the homeless as a nuisance, we view them as people loved by God and needing His grace. That cranky boss is someone loved by God. That annoying neighbour is loved by God. That unhappy teacher, that class bully, that impatient shopper – all are loved by God, and God commands us to love them too. What if we started to view the world through the cross? Would that change the way we deal with the people and circumstances around us? It should!
– Pastor Gary