Have you ever thought about what makes Christianity unique as a religion? You might think about stuff like the virgin birth, miracles, or the prophecies of the Old Testament, but think about this too: Christianity is the only religion that tells people how bad they are.
According to Emil Brunner, the Swiss theologian: "Other religions spare us the ultimate humiliation of being stripped naked and declared bankrupt before God." That's pretty strong language. And yet it points to the humiliating nature of Christianity. Other world religions don't treat humanity with such pessimism. In all other schools of thought, we have something to bring to the table. We can strive toward God and meet Him and in a sense be congratulated when we do. But not Christianity.
In Christianity, we bring nothing to the table. In fact, the only thing we bring to the table with God is the sin we need to be rescued from. Perhaps that's why, if we look back into history, Christianity has been called the religion of women and slaves. In cultures of the past, neither of those two groups had many rights, so it wasn't a far stretch for them to admit their abject need for God's complete and total intervention on their behalf.
The bottom line is this: The one character flaw that has and will continue to keep most people from Christ is not greed. It's not lust. It's not lying or stealing or killing. It's pride. That's the only thing there is no room for at the foot of the cross.
Pause and Reflect
- Why does pride, above all things, keep people from Jesus?
- Are you taking pride in your spiritual achievement today?
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