The Crux of the Matter

"THE CROSS PUTS EVERYTHING TO THE TEST"
- Martin Luther

The cross of Christ is the ultimate symbol of God's kingdom. Christians are not just in the world but not of it but also for it. The crux of the matter is the condition of our hearts and Jesus wants to transform our hearts to transform the world around us. So at the end of the day, the question is not how much did I love but are we loving as Jesus loved? Everything we do is to be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).

As I have been reading Greg Boyd's wonderful book The Myth of a Christian Nation, he provocatively shows the contrast that exists between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. Here is a quote:

"The kingdom of the world trusts the power of the sword, while the kingdom of God trusts the power of the cross. The kingdom of the world advances by exercising 'power over', while the kingdom of God advances by exercising 'power under' . . . The kingdom of the world seeks to control behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform lives from the inside out. Also, the kingdom of the world is rooted in preserving, if not advancing, one's self interests and one's own will, while the kingdom of God is centered on exclusively on carrying out God's will, even if this requires sacrificing one's own interests" (p.47).