Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH
“Christ died, the Righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
1 Peter 3:18
A few months ago, there was an accident of epic proportions in Baltimore, Maryland.
A freighter ship lost power and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing several sections to break apart immediately. Tragically, six people lost their lives. Officials estimate that it will take years to rebuild the bridge.
Here’s the thing:
We don’t think much about bridges…that is until they’re gone. It’s only when a bridge is closed or destroyed, like the Francis Scott Key Bridge, that we fully appreciate what we had.
In today’s key verse, Peter draws our attention to another kind of bridge that we can easily take for granted: the cross. On the cross, Jesus, the “Righteous, died for the unrighteous.” But why? What was the purpose?
Peter answers, “To bring us to God.”
In other words, the cross functions as a bridge, getting us from ‘here’ to ‘there.’
Ever since our rebellion in Eden, we’ve been separated from God by a massive chasm. But out of His great love and infinite mercy, God built a bridge in the shape of a cross. This bridge is strong enough to bear the weight of our sin and long enough to reach the other side.
No other bridge will get us there. The ‘bridge of religion’ won’t reach.
Nor will the ‘bridge of doing good deeds’ or the ‘bridge of being a good person.’
If we want to be reconciled to God, we must humbly exchange our unrighteousness for His righteousness and walk across the bridge of the cross.
For most of us, this probably sounds very basic. But just imagine for a moment if God hadn’t made a bridge. It’s a sobering thought, isn’t it?
So, if you haven’t done so lately, thank God for the cross.
Now – there are at least two ways that we can misinterpret what the bridge of the cross is meant to be.
• It’s a ticket to heaven. Many of us initially decide to walk across the bridge simply because we want to go to heaven when we die. While this isn’t necessarily a bad place to start our faith, it’s a horrible place to stay.
Remember, the purpose of the bridge of the cross was to “bring us to God” to give us access to Him on a moment-by-moment basis. Put another way, the cross brings us into communion with God. We can develop a personal relationship with Him that transforms our present lives, not just our future.
• We devalue Who’s on the other side. The Gospel is good news for many reasons, but primarily because it “brings us to God.” God and God alone is meant to be our greatest Treasure, more valuable to us than anything in the world. And we are called to love Him for who He is, not just for what He gives us.
Sadly, we often prefer the gifts more than the Giver. We want His blessings. We just don’t want Him. In other words, we want His forgiveness, guidance, grace, wisdom, etc…as long as He doesn’t interfere with our lives. When we treat God this way, we reveal that we don’t truly value Who’s on the other side of the bridge. Even if He never gives us another blessing, we have Him…and He is enough.
John Piper asks a clarifying yet challenging question:
“If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?”
Honestly…would heaven be heaven for you if Jesus wasn’t there?
I believe that heaven will be heaven because of Jesus. By laying down His life, He built a bridge so that we could spend eternity with Him. And eternity doesn’t start when we die. It starts now.
So, cherish Him above all things, my friend.
Walk across the bridge of the cross and enjoy fellowship with your Maker, the Bridge-builder.
DIG DEEPER
Read “What is the Meaning of the Cross?” at GotQuestions.org
