With Easter a mere two weeks away, I find myself pondering the cross and its meaning to our lives. Particularly, I have been thinking about some of Christ's words from the cross. "It is finished," or "It is done," as The Message puts it, is the line that has struck me the most. In pondering this, there were two pictures that came to mind. This first picture is of an adder about to consume a very unaware robin. It makes me wonder if this was how Satan felt when Jesus hung on the cross moments before his death. Did Satan think he was going to be victor? One thing is for certain, this picture represents us before Christ's atoning death. Before Christ's words "It is finished," we all stood like robins subject to the adder's bite. But fortunately this picture wasn't the end of the story. When Christ said "It is done," he turned this picture on its head. Actually, he reversed it. When Jesus said "It is done," the bird essentially turned and crushed the serpent's head. This brings us to the second picture.
Above is a picture I just painted expressing this concept. I call it The Power of the Cross. Jesus' words from the cross were not just mere words, they were power filled. There is power in the cross. There is a done, a doing, and another done to be found in the cross. "It is done," meant redemption has been accomplished. The road to God was made accessible; sins can now be forgiven; the debt has been satisfied. This is the first 'done.'
But it doesn't end there. I'm reminded of a scene from The Return of the King movie where Pippin and Gandolf stand in the fortress as Gondor is being attacked. Pippin looks up into Gandolf's face and says "I didn't think it would end this way." Gandolf looks down at a nervous Pippin and says "End? No the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. Then you see it."
"See what?" asks Pippin.
"Grey rain curtains of this world roll back, all turns to silver glass, white shores and beyond a far green country and a swift sunrise. Doesn't sound too bad," Gandolf replies.
"No, it doesn't."
In a sense this is true of the cross as well. The purpose of redemption was accomplished, but that wasn't the end of the story. One chapter ended but another began. Christ released the power of the cross in his words "It is Done." Through his obedience he reversed the picture of the adder and the bird. The dove descended and crushed the serpent's head. And now he invites us to do the same. He has made it possible for us to also release the power of the cross.
The cross is a beautiful picture of an intersection. It is a picture of what happens when evil intersects with holiness. Or maybe it's a collision of the two. When that collision happens the dove is released to crush the serpent's head. That's 'the doing' of the cross to which we are invited to participate in. We release this dove, this power, when addictions are confessed and broken, when another person is brought into the kingdom, when sins are repented of, and when another broken person is brought to wholeness. This is 'the doing' of the cross. It is ongoing. The persecuted church lives this reality daily. Evil collides with their righteousness on a regular basis and they have to make a choice. Do they respond in their human strength or do they release the power of the cross. Most often they choose the latter and the dove comes and a little more darkness gets swallowed by the light.
The cross is a beautiful picture of an intersection. It is a picture of what happens when evil intersects with holiness. Or maybe it's a collision of the two. When that collision happens the dove is released to crush the serpent's head. That's 'the doing' of the cross to which we are invited to participate in. We release this dove, this power, when addictions are confessed and broken, when another person is brought into the kingdom, when sins are repented of, and when another broken person is brought to wholeness. This is 'the doing' of the cross. It is ongoing. The persecuted church lives this reality daily. Evil collides with their righteousness on a regular basis and they have to make a choice. Do they respond in their human strength or do they release the power of the cross. Most often they choose the latter and the dove comes and a little more darkness gets swallowed by the light.
This process goes on till the final done. The final done is Christ's return when 'It is finished' will mean something different. It will mean the evil, the suffering, the curse is done. Its time of existence is over--finished. Till then we live between the first and second done. His kingdom came after the first done but will culminate in its fullness with the second one. Satan was stripped of his authority on earth with the first done but will be extinguished with the second one. Till then we crush his head repeatedly, releasing the cross' power, understanding that when we do the light pierces another piece of the darkness. We continue this process of bringing in the light of Christ's presence till he returns and all the darkness is swallowed up completely.
In the process of painting this picture, I wanted to show the collision of evil and holiness by painting the top of the cross, above the horizontal beam, all white and gold to represent glory and holiness. Below this beam is black paint, thick and chunky in texture, it represents the evil that intersects with God's righteousness. It is in this collision that the dove swoops down into the darkness bringing its light and glory with it. The bird crushes the snake, holiness collides with evil, and the chains of death get broken, throwing open the gates of heaven to all who believe.
So as I ponder the cross this Easter, I stand with Gandolf in waiting for the final day when the grey rain curtains of this world roll back, longing for the white shores and green country. Yet, I do this longing not without hope because the dove continues to swoop down and push back the darkness, inviting us to live in this power, in this hope, as we continue to live between the first done and the second one, waiting for the white shores and green country when evil will be banished forever.
In the process of painting this picture, I wanted to show the collision of evil and holiness by painting the top of the cross, above the horizontal beam, all white and gold to represent glory and holiness. Below this beam is black paint, thick and chunky in texture, it represents the evil that intersects with God's righteousness. It is in this collision that the dove swoops down into the darkness bringing its light and glory with it. The bird crushes the snake, holiness collides with evil, and the chains of death get broken, throwing open the gates of heaven to all who believe.
So as I ponder the cross this Easter, I stand with Gandolf in waiting for the final day when the grey rain curtains of this world roll back, longing for the white shores and green country. Yet, I do this longing not without hope because the dove continues to swoop down and push back the darkness, inviting us to live in this power, in this hope, as we continue to live between the first done and the second one, waiting for the white shores and green country when evil will be banished forever.
