I was able to see Rob Bell at TPAC’s War Memorial on December 9th. I like Rob. I think he’s innovative, pushing the Church to think outside of the proverbial box. I thoroughly enjoyed his lecture. It was a fascinating look at suffering, seeking to not answer the question of “Why, God?!?” but “What now?” It was a compelling lecture/sermon, and if Rob Bell happens to come to your town, I highly suggest picking up a few tickets, and taking a few key leaders along with you. You won’t be disappointed.
But can I nitpick for a minute (and that’s all it is…nitpicking. If Rob could further explain himself on this point, it might have made more sense. But, nonetheless…)? In talking about the “art of solidarity, and the ways that suffering helps to bond us as we build community through shared suffering,” Bell mentioned “the cross, the ultimate act of peace and reconciliation. God didn’t avoid suffering.” Instead, God is with us through it. Then he shared this:
The point of the incarnation is that there’s someone else screaming alongside us.
I get what he’s saying. There’s comfort in the midst of suffering when we know we’re not alone. And I believe that. Suffering is eased when we live life in relationship with others who can share that burden with us. That’s part of the goal of the Church (and the means of achieving that goal, too). And knowing that God doesn’t leave me to my own devices when I suffer is a source of comfort. However, it is not the point of the incarnation.
The main point of the incarnation is not that we have someone to walk through painful situations with us.
The point of the incarnation is that we weren’t good enough to save ourselves. Because of our sin, we needed God himself to come and die the death that we deserved.
A sidebar (and I think it’s important to make that subtle distinction) of the incarnation is that God is with us through suffering. But it’s only a sidebar, at best. The much better news is not that God is present with us through suffering, but that the suffering Christ endured is ONCE FOR ALL! I don’t want to serve a God who merely weeps with me. I want to serve a God who redeems me, who is more powerful than suffering, and who is willing and able to create a world where there is no suffering (Revelation 21:4), no crying, no pain, no death.
Don’t point people to the incarnation as God’s identifying suffering and weeping along with us. Point people to the incarnation as hope that suffering will one day be complete.
Do you want a God who weeps with you? Or One who will redeem you from the curse of pain?
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
