“You can’t go to the cross with just your head and not your heart. It doesn’t work that way. Calvary’s not a mental trip. It’s not an intellectual exercise. It’s not a divine calculation or a cold theological principle. . . . God, may we never be so ‘educated,’ may we never be so ‘mature,’ may we never be so ‘religious’ that we see your passion without tears.”- Max Lucado
In Chapter 20 of No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Max Lucado describes tears as miniature messengers on call twenty-four hours a day. Balls of fluid that creep down our cheeks and splash on the floor of our hearts. Furthermore, tears carry with them the deepest emotions we possess — from blissful joy to darkest despair.
So, Pastor Lucado asks, what do you do when nouns and verbs lay defeated at your feet? do you see tears as a sign of weakness or a lack of courage? Instead, Max counsels:
“Here’s the point. It’s not just tears that are the issue, it’s what they represent. The represent the heart, the spirit, and the soul of a person. To put a lock and key on your emotions is to bury part of your Christ-likeness! Especially when you come to Calvary.”
Certainly, Pastor Lucado notes, Joseph of Arimathea lit a candle in the cavern. A Pharisee turned follower of Jesus, Joseph asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. In order that Joseph might bury the body in his own new tomb. Because Joseph grew tired of the rules, regulations, and legalistic details. He listened to the Pharisees void the Word of God.
Thus, in carrying Jesus’ body to the tomb, Joseph lit a candle in the cavern. In conclusion, Max explains:
“It is still so often the case that one has to find faith in spite of the church instead of in the church. But they have also observed that just when the religious get too much religion and the righteous get too right, God finds somebody in the cavern who will light a candle.”
Today’s question: Do you find people who accept the cross as an intellectual exercise or a divine calculation? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Shuffling feelings – effective?”
