From “The Cross in our Context” by Douglas John Hall
If Jesus Christ is the Revealer of God and not merely a subordinate who, finally, submits to the will of his superior (the Father Almighty), then the cross must be understood to apply to God’s own being and acting and not only to that of the Christ.
It was with that assumption in mind that C.S. Dinsmore at the turn of the twentieth century penned the illuminating sentence, “There was a cross in the heart of God before there was one planted on the green hill outside Jerusalem.” It would be impossible to read the Scriptures of Israel without concluding, long before one had reached the end of them, that there is indeed “a cross in the heart” of Israel’s God.
I repeat from yesterday, the whole of God is for us. We do not and cannot compartmentalize God’s being. This is a point that must be made even when we speak of the Holy Spirit. For as the Spirit is the power that moves and shapes the children of God in every age, that Spirit is with us in the completeness of God. The love into which the Spirit pulls us…the peace into which the Spirit moves us…the forgiveness that is a gift to us to share with the world, are not mere suggestions. They constitute the vision and life of the whole of God that is available to us…now. God on the cross is God for everyday –without exception.
Connection: The Spirit is sometimes feared for it moves people in the direction of the vision of God’s reign here and now. When that power moves you today, do not fear!
Lord of life that is beyond our imagination; strengthen us for all that life in your name may bring within this day. Guide us to prayerfully consider what is before us ready for us to enter. Amen.
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