12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
--Hebrews 4:12-13
The Truth of God is both dagger and scalpel—it penetrates to our core, judging our thoughts and the attitudes of our heart, but also, by God’s grace, it slices away with surgical precision the calluses so prone to grow within.
I was driving home from work the other day and saw on someone’s bumper a sticker that said ‘Coexist.’ It wasn’t the first time that particular bumper sticker stuck out to me. Nor was it the first time it sparked a string of thoughts in my head—namely, What does that really mean? What’s the message it’s sending? I believe it’s saying we ought to accept the views of every religion, that we should embrace their differences, stark as they may be. It’s the theme of our day, right? You believe what you will, and base your attitudes and behaviors on whatever standard you see fit; and I’ll do the same. And we’ll all be brothers and sisters in one great big family of relativism. The problem is, that flies in the face of the nature of truth (Truth). If A equals B, and B does not equal C, then A cannot equal C, no matter how badly we want it to. God is Truth, and as such, He’s perfectly non-contradictory. He created the universe in an orderly fashion, with cohesive governing laws. And He paved the road to salvation with a ‘One Way’ sign --> Jesus.
The Gospel of John declares that God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn it, but to save it through Him. Then, just 6 chapters later, Jesus says, in apparent incongruity, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who ‘see’ will become blind.’ (John 9:39). Which is it? Did He come to save the world or judge it? The answer is both. And make no mistake, there is absolutely no contradiction.
The divisive nature of truth, of the person of Jesus, is becoming more and more recognizable as I read Scripture. Jesus came to save, but in doing so the necessary judgment of truth came with Him. His message was clear: Follow His way, the way that leads to life, and turn away from God-defaming, self-destructing sin. Wherever He went, whatever He said caused people to love Him or want to kill Him; there were few, in any, He left indifferent.
Pray that God gives you sight to see this beautiful reality. The world was a ball of confusion prior to the entrance of Light. But the Light broke into darkness, exposing the true motives of men’s hearts. Jesus came to save those who would accept His gift of faith in His blood, but in doing so He indirectly judged those who replied, ‘No thanks.’
So, back to the bumper. ‘Coexist’? No way. The embracing of truth (Truth) doesn’t allow it. Loving my unbelieving neighbor as myself? Now I can get on board with that.
Grace to you, to see and savor Truth,
Voice of another
Good thoughts, glad to see you writing again! I don't really have a problem with the bumper sticker myself, since I don't necessarily see it evaluating the truth claims of each religion so much as a call for peace between them. That I can get on board with.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that we can't deny that Christianity ultimately revolved around a truth-claim: Jesus died and rose again for our sins. You can't really get around that. It's either true or not. If not, then Christianity is seriously messed up. If it is...then we have to take Jesus words on salvation/judgement seriously.
Another thing I like to keep in mind regarding the false judgement/salvation dichotomy: we will all be judged at the time, believers and unbelievers alike. The important factor will be, were we "in Christ?" That's where's there's no condemnation.