From Jim McGuiggan... As cool as a cucumber

As cool as a cucumber

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17

After a world-full of rebellion in every generation the skies open and here comes the Son of God. After a thousand generations had dishonoured God and shut him out of their lives, individually and nationally, God sent his Son to deal with the world. This Son honoured the Holy Father above life itself so when he came we might have expected that he would come like a juggernaut to crush the world for its ceaseless treachery and contempt.

Would he not come in the likeness of the fierce cherubim, the executors of God's justice and defender of his honour, his war-wagon on which he rides to judgement (Ezekiel chapters 1 & 11)? No, he comes as one of us. If we had asked him, "And why did you come as one of us?" he would have said, "Because I didn't come to condemn the world. I came to save it and this is how it's done."

But doesn't he have his nerve? "I came to save the world!" he says, as cool as a cucumber and as serious as a heart attack. Looking at us with steady eyes when he says it. If he had said he would save a person from drowning or a man from bankruptcy, maybe, a claim like that wouldn't be so bad because we could sense it was within our grasp. That'd have some modesty about it but here's this young man talking about saving "a world". A big, round, teeming world of people. It's startling even to hear him saying, "I'm not here to condemn the world." As if he could! Who does he think he is? God?

We'd dismiss him as a crank, a silly young fool who'd know better when he got to be an old man—that's what we'd do...only...

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.