Focus on the Event of the Cross, Not on the Events of the World.

Having been suffering from the impacts of the coronavirus since March 2020, we have been hoping for a better and brighter 2021. Yes, we should expect for greater things to happen through the new administration. However, considering the event that happened on January 6th, 2021 at the US Capital by the domestic terrorists and its possible political, social, and economic repercussions, our hope for a better 2021 is already shaking. It seems that the more we focus on the things that happen in our nations, the more our hope becomes fragile and defenseless as our sinful nature and enemies try to tear us down. Then, how can we prevent our hope from being dumped into the process of becoming hopelessness? We need to focus on the event of the cross, not on the events of the world.

To focus on the event of the cross means to remind of ourselves the identity of our triune God who exists in the eternal communion of love and glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and of his absolute and perfect attributes such as omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternity, holiness, love, compassion, patience, peace, blessedness, justice, goodness, and mercy. It also means to reflect on how this perfect and glorious God has chosen to be a God for his human creatures, who sinned against him, betrayed his love and friendship, broke his covenant, and became his enemies, and who deserve nothing but eternal condemnation, suffering, and death, and yet to love us with his holy, sovereign, and unconditional love that is powerful to redeem transgressors and to reconcile us to him.

How can this infinite, limitless, perfect, and holy God relate to the finite, limited, imperfect, and sinful human beings? It is only through putting our hope in the redemptive story of the cross of Jesus who is the Son of God being fully divine and human and has chosen to be incarnated on the flesh to suffer and die on the cross and to be resurrected on the third day through the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. He has been sent by the Father to be the Savior of the world, so that whoever believes in Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior may be forgiven and saved, participate in God’s special missions on this world, and join the sweet fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is God’s amazing grace. It can be founded in the story of sweet Jesus.

You see, focusing on the event of the cross is not simply thinking about the past event, because the event of the cross is the ongoing story of the living God who is still calling sinners to the cross to crucify their pride, selfishness, and idolatries and to be his disciples by denying themselves, carrying their cross, and following Jesus. The event of the cross is a continuous event that is occurring in every part of the world through the prayers and singings of the saints of the underground churches, through the universal church and local churches still holding unto the Word of God in the midst of the pandemic and various crises, through the faith, offerings, good deeds, and sacrifices of millions of saints responding to and participating in the event of the cross. May they continue to happen in this present age and all the more!

Unfortunately, all the trials that occurred in 2020 gradually shifted our attention from God and his promises and words to pure optimism, human effort, and science. I am not saying that we should ignore the events that happen in our nations, for God works immediately and mediately through both miracles, mysteries, science, and medicine. The point is that our primary focus should be on the event of the cross, for it defines our identities and purposes and must be our world view that interprets all events that occur in this world. When our attention is shifted from the event of the cross, our hope falls into the process of becoming hopelessness, just as Peter fell into the sea when his attention was shifted from Jesus to the waves churning beneath his feet. The true and only hope of humanity always lies on the event of the cross of Jesus because it is the only solution to the fundamental problem of human beings. Jesus overcame our sins on the cross. Our hope is a living Hope.