"It's too good to be true."

People can be pretty dense. Comprehending God’s radical love is tough. From a historical perspective, people have constantly thought, “It’s just too good to be true.”

In the Older Testament, we see the same old cycle… over and over again.
      Relationship (covenant) with God. >>>>
      People mess up. >>>>
      They think God abandons and punishes them. >>>>
     God commits again and reminds them of everlasting love…. over and over again.

The biggest thing I’ve learned from studying the prophets this semester is this: God isn't going anywhere. God will not separate from us, even when we think it’s happened. The sovereignty of God is outside of what we do or don’t do. God is going to do what God is going to do and refuses separation, at least on God's end.

In the days before Jesus, I can imagine God thinking, “Here we go again. Same cycle. They just can’t believe how unconditional my love is.”

In the incarnation (birth of God in Christ), God says to us…
           Fine. You need another reminder of how I am always with you? I’ll come right to you; I’ll show you radical love. I’ll engage right with you, right at your level. But this love is going to make you really uncomfortable.

 

In the crucifixion, God says to us…

           You continue to think I am separate from you? Fine. I’ll experience your pain, just so you know I get you.

In the resurrection, God says to us…

           You can’t figure out how to escape from your darkness, the parts of yourself you hate? Let me lift that from you. I have defeated darkness, to show you it's possible for you, too.

The crucifixion of Christ is not God’s wrath for my sin poured out on another human in some weird twist of justice, nor is Christ's righteous life substituted for my unrighteous one. That is just not genuine justice.  I'm pretty sure God can forgive me, claim me clean, and break me free from the fear and power of sin without either a punishment or substitution. 

But the extent of love exhibited is hard for me to get my mind around.  In the midst of my humanness, I live in hurt and shame, guilt and pain.  I inflict harm on myself and others.  In my mind, God’s love is just too good be true. I can't trust it because I see too much pain and hurt in this world, too much pain and hurt in me.

But there was someone who risked it all so my human mind might understand it. And he showed me a way out of that tomb into light. Thank God for that.

 

 

From one of those prophets I mentioned earlier.....

 

But now, says the Lord—

    the one who created you

    the one who formed you:

Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you;

   I have called you by name; you are mine. 

 

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This semester, I have been working really hard on the atonement and the meaning of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ. Being in three history classes this semester has shown me that Christians have understood atonement many different ways--lots of models hitting me from all sides. I had it in my head that I had to have it figured out by Easter. A week ago I surrendered--figuring it out by Easter is not going to happen. But I wanted to document where I'm at right now, which is why I wrote the post above. It's a mix of several atonement models, and I'm sure there are holes in this, but that's okay, for now.