Louisville loves bumper stickers. For real. And there is a Christian bumper sticker on the back of lots of cars in the city that reads: Love Wins. I understand the sentiment and even approve, kind of. But like all bumper stickers, its impact suffers from a diffused ambiguity. Whose love wins? Does human love inevitably win? Wins what? Wins the war, the tennis match, the poker game? The big question that looms in my mind is this: If it’s God’s love that wins, then what kind of divine love wins? This may seem to be a very odd question. It may seem self-explanatory or moot — God’s love is God’s love, right?
Maybe. Actually, probably not. I don't know. But I would sure like to see the likes of McLaren, Piper, Pagitt, Boyd, MacArthur, Carson, Bell, Driscoll, and Bishop Gene Robinson duke it out in a cage-match to determine who actually knows what they are talking about.
In all seriousness, the point I am getting at is we need to make clear with our bumper stickers and culture-current writings is that the love that wins is a holy love. The love that won on the cross and wins the world is a love that is driven, determined, and defined by holiness. It is a love that flows out of the heart of a God who is transcendent, majestic, infinite in righteousness, who loves justice as much as He does mercy; who hates wickedness as much as He loves goodness; who blazes with a fiery, passionate love for Himself above all things. He is robed in a splendor and eternal purity that is blinding. He rules, He reigns, He rages and roars, then bends down to whisper love songs to His creatures. His love is vast and irresistible. It is also terrifying, and it will spare no expense to give everything away in order to free us from the bondage of sin, purifying for Himself a people who are devoted to His glory, a people who “have no ambition except to do good” (Titus 2:14). So He crushes His precious Son in order to rescue and restore mankind along with His entire creation (Isaiah 53:10-12). He unleashes perfect judgment on the perfectly obedient sacrifice and then pulls Him up out of the grave in a smashing and utter victory.
He is a God who triumphs.
He is a burning cyclone of passionate love.
Holy love wins.
It's been said that a half-truth masquerading as a whole truth is a complete untruth. So true. And convicting, because we do this so often. These bumper stickers are just one tiny example of our culture’s insistence on accomodating half-truths and it puts us in danger of declawing and domesticating the mighty King, whose presence made demons scream in terror and death flee in shame. He came on an invasive, dangerous, and unwelcome mission of mercy to cut open and expose what was hidden in men’s hearts (Luke 2:34-35). His coming was not to be marked by peace and tranquility — He came to impose a test of absolute allegiance. He forced people into a divisive crisis of choice (Matthew 10:34-39). The peace He came to bring first triggered a war. He was on a guerrilla mission to infiltrate territory controlled by His enemy, raid his camp, and set the prisoners free (Mark 3:23-27; Luke 4:18). That’s why from His carpenter’s tool belt there also hung a sword.
That is why I love this Jesus — but fear Him, too.
Read this book.
The God Who Smokes
Reading this post has helped me clarify some thoughts I have been having about the theme of violence v. nonviolence running throughout Scripture, which is made visible par excellence in the life of our Lord Jesus, the week of his Passionate sacrifice, and his glorious Resurrection. Jesus turned over tables in human hearts much like he did tables in the Gentile court of the temple. People cannot be at rest personally when they know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is dissatisfied with their lives. But Jesus' purpose is not unrest or chaos; his purpose is peace. The immediate RESULT of Jesus waging peace is human violence (no doubt demonic), but his purpose is always peace. When Jesus says his mission involves not peace but a sword, he's basically saying, I knew it was going to be like this--that people would respond to the Good News with violence--but I have to do it this way, because my Father's peace does not come easy.
ReplyDeleteTo emphasize God's violent role viz. "crushing his Son" does not justice to either God's love or Jesus' obedience. God's love as revealed in the crucifixion is much more about Christ's passionate and obedient sacrifice than God fulfilling God's own vindictive demands. Consider these words concerning sacrifice in the final chapter of Isaiah:
"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look, to the humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word.
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering, like one who offers swine’s blood; whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and in their abominations they take delight; I also will choose to mock them, and bring upon them what they fear; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my sight and chose what did not please me."
According to the prophet(s), God was not satisfied with the sacrificial system, and I can imagine God not being "pleased" with his Son's murder. God was pleased with his Son's life, however, and in Jesus' life we have still a greater way--and the nonviolent have always suffered violence on account of their testimony.
You might have known this would draw me out =}
I like!
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