Glory through the Cross
John 17:1-5 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Those are the words of one of Jesus’ last recorded prayers. His petition to be glorified is certainly what any church would say they want God to do through them. What we quickly or conveniently forget is that Jesus is talking about being glorified through extreme suffering, about to be nailed to a cross after having been betrayed, denied by his brothers and best friends, spit upon, beaten and flogged. We can be assured that Jesus was not thinking at all about glorifying God through great singing, fancy preaching or a high visitor count. Certainly it brings to mind Isaiah 58:4-5 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Here- God tries to raise our awareness of just how different his ways are from ours.
John 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.
Jesus and his ways will always seem strange, foreign and just plain nonsensical to many because it entails renouncing our selfish ways, selfish pleasures and ambitions, our convenient cowardice and conflict avoiding ways. It means continuously becoming more like Jesus (1 John 2:6). There is no other way to achieve this but to go to cross with Jesus every day of our lives. This is contrary to ambitions and values people hold to anywhere in the world.
While looking at verses about the narrow path during a Bible study with a friend of mine last week, I was asked the question, “Why did God make it so difficult for us?” We turned to 1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome- Having a hard work out in a gym looks excruciatingly uncomfortable to one person and at the same time super inspiring and motivating for another. It all depends on the individual’s heart and desires. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also Matthew 6:21. Jesus said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light- then consequently invites everyone to carry it (Mathew 11:28-30). The apostle John, who knew what it meant to be persecuted and be on the narrow road (it’s recorded that in a botched attempt to take his life he was thrown into boiling oil,) says that his commands are not a burden (1 John 5:3). Peter got a scorching rebuke from Jesus because he wanted to take Jesus (and himself) off the cross (Mathew 16:22-24). Worthy of our attention is that during the very sentence uttered by Peter to take Jesus and himself of the cross, he still called Jesus “Lord”.
That’s the very grave danger we all face, calling Jesus “Lord” by the mere claim of being a Christian, while at the very same moment drifting ever further from Jesus in our thinking and in our heart’s desires. We have instead in our hearts, the world and its desires with a spiritual tone to it. No one including Jesus would deny that God’s word is challenging, but never would Jesus say that his commands are a burden. The last few years Curaçao had a fellowship where God’s words were taken as a burden and where people refused to live by faith. Some did not want to be challenged from the Bible and clearly showed the messenger (me) that they didn’t appreciate those “burdensome” challenges. One member even specifically requested for us to not open the Bible during a planned gathering. This yeast had spread through the church and poisoned and destroyed the faith several. A lot of things were opposed supposedly because of fear of going back to the “old system”.
A few months ago it became very obvious that something had to be done! If not, everyone’s faith would be destroyed. It could not just be a message preached but an expectation for all to repent. About half the church didn’t want any part of it. Afterwards when we were told that we seemed to spend/reach out much more to certain people in the church than one particular person, we pointed out that we had for a long time tried to help but that the person simply didn’t want to change. Upon saying this we were told “everything is about changing for you”. This was a clear indication of how far we had fallen, as in 2 Peter 1:3-10. This verse shows what the root cause is if we are not growing and changing. People wanted to socialize do fun things together while ignoring God’s word, hoping somehow things would somehow someday change (Jeremiah 6- peace, peace while there is no peace-). That’s what was happening to us. Some wanted peace on their terms instead of in Jesus’ terms. It was also very unfortunate we were also told that all we cared about was baptizing. To that I say, God wants all men to come to a knowledge of the truth and we want help as many as possible become disciples and get baptized! After that- it is equally important for everyone to remain faithful to God. On that last day that is all that will matter. The above-mentioned event was certainly was painful to all involved both to those who decided to stay and those who parted. However, it is even clearer now then before that a stand had to be taken no matter how uncomfortable or painful.
At first, some were sentimental because several members left and it finally set in with those who stayed. This quickly disappeared, however, as disciples started seeing miracles and believing again. Shortly afterwards, one member returned to our fellowship and is now faithfully and joyfully living out God’s plan. Two months later, the first woman in 5 years was baptized! Most amazing to me though is that people who visit and do not know what happened, tell us that the group is different now. One person, who was abroad for a few months and hadn’t even been to church since said, “The group is very different now”. This was based on her individual interactions with just some of the disciples. Faith is contagious and so is faithlessness; just read Number 13. After our repentance, God started opening doors for us. He has been putting people in all of our lives. We are grateful to God and amazed by the doors that are being opened!
I am reminded of Romans 8:28 -in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Last year Maria and I lost our baby who was born and passed away 20 minutes later. During the same delivery (c-section) Maria was on the verge of death and only by God’s grace is she still alive. During the closing of the womb, the doctor accidentally punctured another organ. After a few hours Maria realized she was in very bad shape. While closing the womb, the doctor had punctured her bladder. Though she tried to reach for the remote to call a nurse, it was placed too far from her so that she couldn’t reach it. Unbeknownst to everyone, except God, she was bleeding to death. Seeing her seemingly hopeless situation and accepting what she thought was God’s will, she started praying for me to find a good wife and mother for the children. Unknown to her, our neighbor, who used to be a nurse and used to work in the same hospital, was trying to visit her. The guard refused to let her in because it was outside of visiting hours. She insisted and eventually the guard relented and allowed her in. When she saw Maria, being a nurse, she knew something was very wrong and notified the nurse immediately. Within a few minutes Maria was operated on again and so her life was saved.
(During the same period, we were under tremendous stress because we were virtually bankrupt due to a crooked contractor who was building our new house. We are still “bankrupt”, though there is now some light in sight.)
Remember Romans 8:28? Last week, Maria (who is healthy again) went to visit her house doctor (with whom she had shared about God and her life). The doctor also found out that Maria’s mother recently had a stroke. The doctor then said, “There is something that pulls me towards you- you have gone through so much and yet you remain so strong. I have my faith too but I can’t get strength from it like you do from your faith”. Maria shared with her about God and his comfort and invited her to study the Bible, “yes that’s what I was getting at- I want to have what you have but don’t know how to get there- I need to study the Bible”! When Maria shared this with me I was reminded that one of the men I am currently studying the Bible with, I had met because of all the problems with the house- he knows what we have gone through. Another couple we have really bonded with because they too lost a child as we did, is also now studying the Bible!
Everything we go through, God either makes it happen or allows it to happen. Everything that happens to us will be used for His purpose. If just one soul makes it to heaven because of everything God allowed or made us go through, I will be one very happy person. We are simply God’s instruments to be used as He knows best. Though I have never met nor heard of Ken Zindler until recently, I could totally relate to his article published on the City of Angles website on July 15, 2007 entitled, “Strangers and Aliens”- particularly the following excerpt;
My perspective is Christians have gravitated towards building a fellowship centered on the “social club” mentality. What I mean is that few Christians are intimately involved in one another’s lives. Fellowship has become more of a discussion about our favorite sports, what we are working on in our careers, where we are going for our vacation, etc. These mundane trivialities of self-centered conversations lack any real spiritual significance to one’s relationship to God and one’s personal spiritual growth as a disciple.
The amazing love, the unity and the fellowship are all by-products of a family with its foundation being Jesus as Lord and a common desire of wanting desperately, at all cost, to please God and do His will. Any attempt, no matter how desperate to achieve what many of us have experienced to be the Kingdom of God and were so zealously and passionately involved, can only be achieved through being on the cross. Do you want God to be glorified in you and the church you are in? Go to the cross and teach everyone in your congregation to carry their cross. For those who love God, it will be an exciting challenge, but not a burden! The fruits of repentance will follow and this will honor God. All of us in Curaçao are praying for every disciple who may read this, as we all strive for glory through the cross.
Michael Hart
Curaçao International Christian Church
