The Pursuit of Happiness Daily Devotional -12

PHILIPPIANS 2:8 | ⁸he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

If you were constructing a story about a king who set aside his throne and lived as a pauper it would not end with his unjust imprisonment and degradation, let alone his torture and death. No philosopher, religious scholar, or anyone else for that matter, would have guessed that “death as a criminal” could be associated with God. Unlimited power, yes. Glory and beauty, check. Ultimate authority! Unsearchable knowledge, no doubt. But never suffering and humiliation and rejection.

The cross stands in shocking discontinuity with human speculation about God. But once understood, it gives radical new meaning to every theological assertion. His rule is sovereign love. His power is expressed in servant leadership. His glory is shown in His suffering and shame.

Do you think the unexpectedness of the cross is itself evidence of its’ truth?

Human pictures of God, Luther said, “are always theologies of glory.” Do you agree?

Tags: truth, cross, obedience