To the Glory of God, the Father

The wonderful cross, it removes us as the central player and puts God back in the middle. That is what Andy Stanley conveyed to us in the second part of the Canvas.

Andy started by telling us that when God finished painting the universe, he handed mankind the brush. God gave us a choice of where we wanted to be. We, with the brush in hand, told God we did not like his agenda. We hijacked God's glory and painted ourselves in the middle of creation and God off to one side. Just in reach so if we get into trouble we can bring him out to fix things then put him back when we don't need him. JI Packer, in his book "Hot Tub Religion" wrote "we have recast Christianity into a mould that stresses happiness above holiness, blessings here above blessedness hereafter, health and wealth as God's best gifts, and death, especially early death, not as thankworthy deliverance from the miseries of a sinful world, but as the supreme disaster, and a constant challenge to faith in God's goodness". We want a God that makes us feel good and comfortable. We want the glory.

Get serious.

What if you were God?

After making the whole universe and making a people to bring glory to you, your creation rebels. Wouldn't you want to just swot them aside and start over? That is how we humans would have handled it, but not God. Everything He does is for His glory. God took the tragedy of sin and leveraged it for His own glory. In the middle of time, at a precise point, God stepped in and sent His Son, His only Son to lay aside His birthright and became a man to die a cruel death.

When a king would willingly die for his subjects, it tells us something about the king not the subjects.

Amazing Love by Chris Tomlin

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

Amazing love,
How can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it's true.
It's my joy to honour You,
In all I do, I honour You.

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

You are my King
Jesus You are my King