“I Resolved to know nothing… except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2) by Maria Sangeetha

There is this famous painting of the Risen Lord supporting a fainting young man. Clearly visible in the man’s hand are a hammer and nail. The young man who went to crucify is the one the Lord chose to save and support. The central experience of St Paul was strikingly similar. Hence he declares, “God shows His love for us (Rm 5:8). In this last of the three part series on the Life Principle of St Paul we arrive at the core of his existence – Christ crucified – the life breath, the salvation and the proclamation of Paul.

“I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20) For St Paul, the crucified Christ testified to the personal love of God. And so sure is this testimony that one could live by it. The extreme sin within us, the deathly coldness of our hearts, the darkness of the grief and fear that we are covered by – none of these can hold out against the loving determination and power of the Lord to seek us out and bring us back to life. The Cross is a bridge by which the love of Christ stretches out over and beyond my every failure and every obstacle to reach me to salvation. God is not confined by time and distance. He is only confined by His love that knows no confines. Hence St Paul insists, ““I Resolved to know nothing… except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2)

THE BEYOND PRINCIPLE – “The Son of God who loved me”

When St Paul looked at the crucified Lord he was transported to the beyond. “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard… God has prepared for us” (1 Cor 2:9,10). Life had to be lived beyond what the senses could tell us. The senses can only limit us. “If you live according to the flesh (the limits imposed by our senses) you will die” (Rm 7:13). No wonder we are desperate and depressed! We have been living our life on limitations – the illness that is beyond cure, the wounds that are beyond healing, the complexes that are beyond change, the separations in our relationships that are beyond reconciliation, the problems in our family that have existed beyond generations, the financial burdens that are beyond our earnings, the impossible challenges and the final failures.

St Paul invites us to look with him, beyond to the God who is beyond all limitations. Our God works at a superior level of grace. We are reminded of the grand prophecy: “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so much greater are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts” (Is 55:8,9). The crucified Christ stood before St Paul to constantly remind him that the love of God was beyond all boundaries and limitations. He writes, “For I am convinced that… nothing can ever come between us and the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rm 8: 37-39).

The stumbling blocks in our life circumstances, the limitations or the foolishness we see within ourselves – even these can hold no resistance to the love of God. Even if the whole world is against us, there are charges established against us, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because it is He who is our advocate…who intercedes for us, pleads for our cause, acquits and stands by us. The Risen Lord came through locked doors of fear and grief to present himself to his disciples his wounded hands and torn side to touch that they might realize that death is not final, nor is any darkness. Life has conquered and we have no reason to grieve. While in the gospels and everywhere else we are promised the fullness of grace – love and joy and peace and life in superlative measure; St Paul always goes a step further and speaks of the “beyond.” The love of God is beyond our comprehension (Eph 3:18,19). Hence He gives us beyond our asking and our imagination (Eph 3:20)

THE “CRUCIFIX & I” PRINCIPLE – “The Son of God who…gave Himself up for me”

The crucified Christ was ever before the eyes of St Paul. The sacrificial death of Christ and the love behind was not a mere historical fact or even an incident in the salvation sequence but a personal experience for Paul. This is how it is meant to be for every Christian. Paul was an active participant in the Calvary event – the very reason for the crucification and death of Christ. The famed actor-director Mel Gibson was asked why he did not act in “The Passion of Christ” the movie he had made. He told the surprised hearers that indeed he did play a major role. His hands were seen as nailing Christ to the Cross.

So also Paul counted himself as intimately connected to the reason and hence to the salvation of the Cross. So he would insist, “I resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). Again he would say what this cross meant for him, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1: 23, 24)

The crucified Christ was for Paul a living and relevant reality in every aspect of present life. Apart from counting himself as the reason for Christ’s extreme step of self giving, the cross of Christ casts a shadow on every cross of the Christian’s life. The Cross of Christ transforms all our crosses. The cross dismissed as a stumbling block and foolishness is now transformed by the overwhelming love of God into the very power and wisdom. So also every suffering, every obstacle, every shameful failure is transformed into an occasion to witness the power and wisdom of God. There is no room for regret. The apostle assures us that therefore, “ALL THINGS shall work for the good” (Rm 8:28). And he would now declare that his glory is his sufferings. Boasting in his persecutions and rejections, his humiliations and heartbreaks, St Paul obviously saw these as vents through which the power of God could enter into his life and mission. The Cross is not merely to be revered, hung up and decorated or the sacrifice of the Cross simply to be praised. St Paul leads us beyond these to embrace the Cross of Christ and unite to it all our crosses. It is for all of us to recognize and acknowledge the presence of the power and wisdom of God in our daily trails. A mentally retarded child, a paralyzed parent, a shameful failure, a heartbreaking tragedy – all these are sacraments of God’s presence in our life. All these by my worldly logic would be foolishness and stumbling blocks. But when I acknowledge the Cross of Christ as my salvation, I need to accept that very power of God operating through these wounds in my life.

We have been lost to the fear of sufferings and grieved over the curse of pain. St Paul invites us to share in the victory of Christ by building our life on the Rock of Calvary. For it is at the Cross that I am assured that God moves beyond the boundaries and walls, that have deprived me of the light of day and life. It is at the Cross that I know that God reaches out to me even beyond my sin and fears. It is at the Cross that my crosses are transformed into sites of graces. I am the reason for Christ being raised up on the Cross. And in me is the reward of His grand sacrifice.

Maria Sangeetha serves as the Youth Co-ordinator at DRCM and have been active in the DY ministry for more than 7 years.

Courtesy: Divine Voice August 2009 Issue/ Painting Copyright: Thomas Blackshear II