When you see the cross what do you think of? For most of us it’s probably become little more than a symbol on a piece of jewelry or something that takes its’ place on a church steeple. When you really stop and think about it, though, what or who do you think about? Do you think of Jesus or do you think of yourself first?
For many, the cross serves as a reminder that Jesus died for them personally. This is real and it is good for us to remember this. But I find it ironic that in this selfless act Jesus that we are reminded of we usually think of ourselves first; Jesus dies for ME. I have to ask myself, “am I the point of this whole thin?”
Jesus said “whatever you do to the least of these you are really doing it to me.” What if the point of the cross is ‘the least of these?’ What if the point of the whole gospel is the least of these becoming most… the first becoming last…? Sometimes we may be the point because sometimes we are the least Jesus is talking about; the oppressed, the distressed.
If the point of the Gospel is ‘the least of these’ then maybe when we look at the cross we should be reminded that the first shall be last. Maybe the first thing that should come to mind, instead of ourselves, is the lives of the marginalized and browbeaten. With this perspective we cannot help but remember that “pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles.” (James 1:27)
4 comments:
Great thoughts to ponder on, especially this time of year!
Yeah!
I've thought about this before, and I came up with the idea thatif Christ was 'least' on the cross, He ultimately became 'greatest'.
Do you think this is an example for us to pursue becoming 'least of these' ourselves?? I'm not talking about poverty, starvation & homelessness. I'm talking about the whole "to be greatest in the kingdom is to be servant of all" concept.
I think the only way we can truly relate to the 'least of these' around us is by becoming 'least of these' to them, ourselves.
Good thoughts, Wes. The gospel is, however, in many ways about us. It is about the restoration of mankind to the place that it was always supposed to be. "The least of these" is a big part of it as well with Jesus saying that the kingdom of God is opened to all and it is Jesus Christ who opened the way through his death on the cross.
Danny,
my point was not to take "us" out of the gospel equation, rather, to remind us that it's not all about us as individuals. If we stop thinking about ourselves we might get a glimps of the kind of servanthood Jesus talked about and modeled.
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