Give me an X

My Bible alphabet blog series is almost coming to an end (which took way longer than expected, but why hurry?) and X stands for Cross.

And with that I do not mean the cross (x) for a kiss, but the universal and international symbol of Christianity.

The cross symbolizes the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth as a human being to take the sin of humanity upon Himself.

A crazy exchange if you think about it. A holy God who approached sinful humanity, saying "Give me your pain and misery, and I will give you my forgiveness, peace, and salvation." That is not possible in any other religion. Yet there are many people who reject the cross. The Apostle Paul wrote about it: For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ (Philippians 3:18).

But fortunately, there are more than two billion people worldwide [source: Pew Reseacrh Center] for whom the cross is so much more than just a symbol or a necklace... it's the power from which they live. In Colossians 1:20 it is described as follows:

Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

No human being can add anything to that. No good works, no prayers, no rituals, no pilgrimage ... We can only accept it in gratitude!

Restored relationships (6)

Reconciliation: end of conflict, restoration of friendly relations, reunion, bringing together (again), restoration of peace...

In the previous blog post I wrote very shortly about the system of atonement that God had set up for His people Israel. According to this old covenant blood had to flow for the forgiveness of sins and each time that happened reconciliation between God and mankind was made possible.

In Hebrews 9:7 we can read about the sacrificial services the high priest used to perform under the old covenant: But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

Despite the fact that we mostly don't like all that bloody business, it is interesting to read on in the book of Hebrews. For example verses 9 and 10: This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The old covenant prepared the people for a new covenant God was going to establish. And this time not just with the people of Israel, but will ALL people! Christ came as a high priest of the new covenant and His suffering, death and resurrection put an end to all the blood sacrifices. In verse 12 we can read it as follows:

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

This is glorious. We no longer have to suffer under sin and guilt and shame. He has set us free, eternally! If we accept and believe that and if we give Him permission to change our heart, our thinking, our talking and our doing, then we will be able to truly live in freedom. There is NO LONGER any need for the shedding of blood. We continue to read in verses 13 and 14:

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

We can serve the living God in freedom. If we would truly understand this, we would be able to live much more relaxed and war and violence would stop... In verse 17 and 18 the writer of Hebrews explains again that a covenant (in this case the reconciliation between God and Israel) was put into effect through blood:

In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

Under the old covenant cleansing took place by the use of blood. If no blood flowed, no forgiveness took place. That is how it used to be between God and Israel. How different is it now between God and people (yes, we will always come back to the first level of restored relationships: that between God and mankind). Verse 26 says: But he [Christ] has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

As far as God is concerned, the friendship has been restored, with Israel and with all other nations. Now it is up to us... how do we react? How do we interact with each other? That is what the next blog will be about; the reconciliation between Jews and gentiles (non-Jewish people)....

Restored relationships (2)

Reconciliation: end of conflict, restoration of friendly relations, reunion, bringing together (again), restoration of peace...

In the previous blog post I wrote: 'reconciliation basically means restored relationship and that is really the heart of God, the foundation of the Christian faith.'

Often we have (without being aware of it) developed  our own image of God. Some see God as an angry man who sees every mistake and never gives a compliment. Others see God as holy and out of reach. And again, others might see Him as a good old fellow who loves everyone and doesn't judge...

If we want to get to know God better it is important to talk with Him, listen to Him and read His Word. We cannot expect pastors and professors to do that for us. In the same way as we cannot leave it up to others to get to know our lover, friend, child, partner a little better. We must invest time in the relationship!

The Bible clearly states where and how the relationship between mankind and God (the Creator) went wrong. God decided to make mankind according to His image and likeness, thus a living soul with a free will. The first people used that free will to go their own way and to NOT listen to God... well, nothing new under the horizon so far... many people are still doing that today!

The relationship between God and mankind has been distorted ever since. Which, by the way, does not mean that God isn't communicating with people, He does so all the time. But sin (going our own way) stands in the way of a healthy relationship with Him. That is why many people have a love-hate relationship with God. As long as everything is okay, many people believe He is kind of out there, but the moment things go wrong, He gets the blame. Even people who do not believe in God feel deep down inside that He must exist... but are too scared to admit it.

Sin stands in the way of a healthy relationship with God and this often results in feelings of guilt, shame, anger or fear. Well, that is not the way we want to have relationship, right? Not on a human level, not on a godly level. And this is exactly where reconciliation comes around the corner. God offers us restoration of the relationship with Him. In Colossians 1:20 (GNT) it is described like this:

Through the Son [that is Jesus, Yeshua, Isa], then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

God has offered us peace. The question is how we answer His peace proposal.

Do we keep fighting and struggling... insisting in going our own way? Or do we accept His peace offering?