“The Jesus who ‘died for our sins’ has simply got to go. . . . Christianity must move beyond a rescuing Jesus.” Part of me wants to purr like a kitten in relieved agreement. Yes, let’s sweep away the cobwebs clinging to Jesus the rescuer. But then I realize that I am face down on a linoleum floor somewhere in my life, powerless, praying like mad, “You’ve done it for others, God. I am begging you, do it for me.” And when I find myself lifted up into new life and hope, I am more grateful than I can say that “by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing.”
Many years ago I read the above passage in the Christian Century Magazine ((3.1.06) in a piece called “Just As I Am” by the great preacher Thomas Long. He writes of his discomfort at the way people say “Jesus saved me” in what seems like a casual and offhand way. He is inclined to more thoughtful understandings, the sort that reside in “the mind”. He is more comfortable with reasoned, ethical arguments regarding Jesus and faith and grace and the like. I confess that I am similar but that little by little my heart has moved into the place where my head once held the reins.
I am face down on a linoleum floor too. Sometimes, it feels cool down here and my cheek, as it rests against the surface transmits that cool, cold feeling through my body. When I am like this I don’t really want to move because I can barely breathe. I close my eyes and hope that somehow God will find me. Again. Like today would be good. ~ Linda
0 Comments