We just celebrated the most important events on the Christian calendar. 

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are the center point of the Christian faith. The idea that God would come in human form to live among people was heretical to Jesus’ own Jewish community. A God who loved people at all, let alone loving to the extent of dying for them, was unheard of and a ridiculous idea to the larger Pagan culture. 

Even the first followers of Jesus who had been drawn to him by his miraculous signs and authoritative, moral teachings and deep spiritual insights, struggled to make sense of Jesus’ death. It was only after the resurrected Jesus interpreted scripture to them concerning himself that the disciples began to put it all together.

The love of God demonstrated on the cross and the power of the resurrection, became the good news that the first generation of witnesses carried to their families, neighborhoods and beyond. Belief in a God of power was nothing new to Jews or Pagans. The message that God actually loved people, however, transformed the entire culture, one life at a time. 

In short order, historically speaking, Christianity replaced Paganism as the dominant worldview across the vast Roman Empire.   

In John 12:32 Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 

There is something deeply attractive about someone who loves you. The deeper the demonstration of love, the more powerful the appeal. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” Jesus said in John 15:13.

Generation after generation, people have been drawn to the love that was demonstrated on the cross. Many believers have found themselves radically transformed by experiencing the unconditional love of God. That message most often becomes believable when it is conveyed through flesh and blood demonstration of its power. 

Jesus said in verse 12 of John 15, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” 

How did He love? By laying down his life.

God’s life-altering love for us is in the process of making us more like Christ himself. Unfortunately, it is easy to confuse the goals of discipleship. We tend to measure growth in terms of knowledge and religious activities. But the biblical yardstick for apprenticeship to Jesus is consistent. The tell-tale sign of becoming more like Jesus is more sacrificial love. The resurrection assures us of the power of God to accomplish his will.  

Ultimately, the story of the cross and resurrection isn’t just a fact to know, it is a way of living. 

Jeff Fugitt is the pastor of Cassville United Methodist Church, located at 601 Gravel Street in Cassville. He may be reached at 417-847-2328 or [email protected].