"And when therefore we speak...of shaping our world, we do not--we dare not--simply treat the cross as the thing that saves us "personally," but which can be left behind when we get on with the job. The task of shaping our world is best understood as the redemptive task of bringing the achievement of the cross to bear on the world, and in that task the methods, as well as the message, must be cross-shaped through and through."
I think this is what I had in mind when I painted this last year
The image is not intended to make us recognize that "Jesus suffered for me," but rather that as apprentices of Jesus, this is to be the shape of our lives. We are to bring the achievement of the cross to bear on the world around us. Our task is to recognize this achievement as the way in which God won the victory over all destructive forces and began the healing of all creation. If you and I are to see this "kingdom come" in our worlds, it will only be realized as we follow in the way (character and power and praxis) of the crucified Messiah.
May God be known in our cross-shaped lives.
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