Continuing with righting wrongs…..

As Christians, we must remember that Christ’s crucifixion was real and in the external world.  In the book of Philippians we are told: You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.. 2:5 NLT.  Christ’s crucifixion was on a hill, by a road, where everybody who passed by could not only see his pain, but also his shame.  It was not done in a shadow, hidden away somewhere.  And when you and I have some concept of really seeking to honor and follow Christ’s example, our confession to God and to man must be as open as Christ’s crucifixion was open on that hill, before the eyes of man.  We have to be willing for the shame, as well as the pain, in an open place.  It is not enough merely to agree with the principle as we deal with these personal relationships; we must put it into practice.  Only in this way can we give a demonstration to a watching world, in a way that they can understand, that we live in a personal universe, and that personal relationships are valid and important.  Only in this way can we show that we have been bought and forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ not just in theory, but in practice, and that there can be substantial healing of the separation between men in the present life, and not just when we get on the other side of death.  And if the other man is not a Christian that makes no difference.  The demonstration and the reality is to be on our part, not his.   

Thoughts developed or used directly from the work of Schaeffer, Francis. True Spirituality . Tyndale House Publishers, Inc