MOÙN QUAØ THÖÔÏNG ÑEÁ BAN CHO BAÏN
Thaäp Töï Giaù. Baïn coù theå nhìn quanh baát cöù phöông höôùng naøo maø khoâng thaáy moät thaäp giaù? Choùt voùt treân ñænh moät thaùnh ñöôøng. Taïc khaéc trong moät bia moä. Chaïm troå vaøo moät chieác nhaãn, hay luûng laúng döôùi moät daây chuyeàn. Thaäp giaù laø moät bieåu hieäu phoå thoâng Cöùu theá giaùo. Moät löïa choïn laï luøng, Baïn coù nghó theá chaêng? Laï luøng vì moät duïng cuï haønh hình coù theå trôû thaønh tieâu bieåu cho moät traøo löu hy voïng. Nhöõng bieåu hieäu cuûa caùc nieàm tin khaùc thì laïc quan hôn: ngoâi sao coù saùu goùc nhoïn cuûa Jerusalem, maët traêng löôõi lieàm cuûa Islam, moät hoa sen nôû cuûa Phaät giaùo. Nhöng, moät thaäp giaù cho Cöùu theá giaùo! Moät duïng cuï töû hình!Baïn coù muoán ñeo moät caùi gheá ñieän nhoû quanh coå Baïn chaêng? Hay treo treân töôøng moät daây thaét coå maï vaøng? Baïn coù muoán in hình moät ñoäi xöû baén treân taám danh thieáp? Vaäy maø chuùng ta laøm theá vôùi thaäp giaù. Thaäm chí, nhieàu ngöôøi laøm daáu hieäu thaäp giaù khi hoï caàu nguyeän. Chuùng ta coù muoán laøm daáu hieäu… nhö… moät maùy cheùm? hay moät nhaùt chaët karateâ treân loøng baøn tay, thay vì laøm daáu tam giaùc treân traùn vaø hai beân vai? Caùch ñoù khoâng mang laïi cho chuùng ta cuøng moät caûm giaùc, phaûi khoâng?
Taïi sao thaäp gía tieâu bieåu cho nieàm tin cuûa chuùng ta? Ñeå traû lôøi, khoâng caàn tìm ñaâu xa hôn chính thaäp giaù. Khoâng gì ñôn sô hôn kieåu hình thaäp töï. Moät caây ñaø ngang, caây kia thaúng ñöùng. Moät caây dang ra nhö tình yeâu cuûa Thöôïng Ñeá. Caây kia vöôn leân nhö söï thaùnh thieän cuûa Ngaøi. Moät caây töôïng tröng chieàu roäng tình yeâu cuûa Ngaøi, caây kia phaûn aûnh beà cao thaùnh thieän cuûa Ngaøi. Thaäp giaù laø ngoû gaëp nhau cuûa Tình yeâu vaø Thaùnh thieän. Thaäp giaù laø nôi Thöôïng Ñeá tha thöù con caùi Ngaøi maø khoâng haï giaûm tieâu chuaån Ngaøi.
Sao Ngaøi coù theå laøm ñieàu naày? Toùm goïn moät caâu: Thöôïng Ñeá chaát toäi loãi chuùng ta treân Con Ngaøi vaø tröøng phaït toäi loãi treân ñoù.
"Thöôïng Ñeá ñaët nhöõng sai traùi treân Con Ngaøi laø Ñaáng khoâng heà laøm ñieàu sai traùi, haàu cho chuùng ta coù theå ñöôïc xöng coâng chính cuøng Thöôïng Ñeá" (II Cor. 5:21 - MSG).
Hoaëc, trong moät baûn dòch khaùc: "Ñaáng Christ chaúng heà phaïm toäi! Song Thöôïng Ñeá ñaõi Ngaøi nhö moät toäi nhaân, haàu cho Ñaáng Christ coù theå giuùp chuùng ta ñöôïc Thöôïng Ñeá chaáp nhaän" (II Cor. 5:21 - CEV).
Haõy töôûng töôïng giaây phuùt. Thöôïng Ñeá treân ngoâi Ngaøi. Coøn Baïn ôû döôùi ñaát. Vaø giöõa Baïn vaø Thöôïng Ñeá, lô löûng giöõa Baïn vaø thieân giôùi, Ñaáng Christ bò treo treân thaäp giaù Ngaøi. Nhöõng toäi loãi cuûa Baïn ñaõ ñöôïc chaát treân Chuùa Jesus. Thöôïng Ñeá, Ñaáng tröøng phaït toäi loãi, truùt côn thònh noä coâng chính cuûa Ngaøi treân nhöõng sai laàm cuûa Baïn, Chuùa Jesus nhaän chòu côn thònh noä ñoù. Bôûi Ñaáng Christ bò treo giöõa Baïn vaø Thöôïng Ñeá, coøn Baïn thì khoâng. Toäi loãi bò tröøng phaït, song Baïn ñöôïc an toaøn, an toaøn trong boùng che cuûa thaäp giaù.
Ñaây laø ñieàu Thöôïng Ñeá ñaõ laøm, nhöng taïi sao, taïi sao Ngaøi muoán laøm nhö vaäy? Traùch nhieäm ñaïo ñöùc? Moùn nôï thieân thöôïng? Ñieàu kieän trong tình phuï töû? Thöa khoâng, Thöôïng Ñeá khoâng bò ñoøi hoûi phaûi laøm gì caû.
Hôn nöõa, haõy chuù yù vieäc Ngaøi ñaõ laøm. Ngaøi ban chính Con Ngaøi. Ngöôøi Con duy nhaát cuûa Ngaøi. Baïn coù muoán laøm theá khoâng? Baïn coù theå hieán maïng soáng con Baïn cho moät ngöôøi khaùc chaêng? Toâi thì khoâng. Toâi coù theå hieán maïng soáng toâi cho moät soá ngöôøi. Song thöû ñoøi hoûi toâi laøm moät danh saùch nhöõng ngöôøi maø toâi coù theå gieát con gaùi toâi vì ho. Tôø giaáy seõ troáng khoâng. Toâi khoâng caàn moät caây buùt chì. Danh saùch seõ khoâng coù teân naøo caû.
Nhöng danh saùch cuûa Thöôïng Ñeá goàm coù teân cuûa moïi ngöôøi ñaõ töøng soáng. Bôûi ñaây laø tieâu ñieåm tình yeâu cuûa Ngaøi. Vaø ñaây laø lyù do cuûa thaäp giaù. Ngaøi yeâu thöông theá gian.
"Vì Thöôïng Ñeá quaù yeâu theá gian ñeán ñoä Ngaøi ban Con duy nhaát cuûa Ngaøi …" (John 3:16 - NLT)
Caây ñaø thaäp giaù baøy toû tình yeâu cuûa Thöôïng Ñeá vöõng chaéc nhö caây ñaø truï coát thaùnh thieän cuûa Ngaøi. OÂi, tình yeâu cuûa Ngaøi dang ra roäng lôùn döôøng bao.
Phaûi chaêng Baïn khoâng vui vì caâu Kinh Thaùnh khoâng noùi raèng: "Vì Thöôïng Ñeá quaù yeâu nhöõng keû giaøu…?" Hoaëc "Vì Thöôïng Ñeá quaù yeâu nhöõng ngöôøi danh tieáng…?" Hoaëc "Vì Thöôïng Ñeá quaù yeâu nhöõng ngöôøi oám yeáu…?"
Khoâng phaûi theá. Maø cuõng khoâng noùi raèng: "Vì Thöôïng Ñeá quaù yeâu nhöõng ngöôøi AÂu chaâu hay Phi chaâu…" "…ngöôøi ñöùng ñaén hay ngöôøi thaønh coâng…" "…ngöôøi treû hay ngöôøi giaø…"
Thöa khoâng. Khi chuùng ta ñoïc John 3:16, chuùng ta ñôn sô (vaø vui möøng) ñoïc raèng: "Vì Thöôïng Ñeá quaù yeâu theá gian…"
Tình yeâu cuûa Thöôïng Ñeá roäng lôùn theá naøo? Ñuû roäng cho caû theá gian. Baïn coù ñöôïc keå trong theá gian chaêng? Vaäy Baïn ñöôïc keå trong tình yeâu cuûa Thöôïng Ñeá.
Thaät toát ñeïp khi ñöôïc keå vaøo. Baïn khoâng bò loaïi tröø. Caùc tröôøng ñaïi hoïc loaïi tröø Baïn neáu Baïn khoâng ñuû thoâng minh. Caùc doanh nghieäp loaïi tröø Baïn neáu Baïn khoâng ñuû ñieàu kieän, vaø buoàn thay, moät soá hoäi thaùnh loaïi tröø Baïn neáu Baïn khoâng ñuû toát.
Nhöng duø hoï coù theå loaïi tröø Baïn, Ñaáng Christ keå Baïn vaøo. Khi ñöôïc hoûi phaûi moâ taû chieàu roäng tình yeâu cuûa Ngaøi, thì Ngaøi dang moät tay veà beân phaûi vaø tay kia veà beân traùi, roài ñeå chuùng bò ñoùng ñinh taïi vò trí ñoù, haàu cho Baïn coù theå bieát raèng Ngaøi ñaõ cheát vì yeâu thöông Baïn.
GOD'S GIFT FOR YOU
The Cross. Can you turn any direction without seeing one? Perched atop a chapel. Carved into a graveyard headstone. Engraved into a ring or suspended on a chain. The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. An odd choice, don't you think? Strange that a tool of torture would come to embody a movement of hope. The symbols of other faiths are more upbeat: the six-pointed star of Jerusalem, the crescent moon of Islam, a lotus blossom for Buddhism. Yet a cross for Christianity? An instrument of execution?Would you wear a tiny electric chair around your neck? Suspend a gold-plated hangman's noose on the wall? Would you print a picture of a firing squad on a business card? Yet we do so with the cross. Many even make the sign of the cross as they pray. Would we make the sign of, say, a guillotine? Instead of the triangular touch on the forehead and shoulders, how about a karate chop on the palm? Doesn't quite have the same feel, does it?
Why is the cross the symbol of our faith? To find the answer, look no further than the cross itself. Its design couldn't be simpler. One beam horizontal, the other vertical. One reaches out like God's love. The other reaches up as does God's holiness. One represents the width of his love, the other reflects the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection of both. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standard.
How could he do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on his Son and punished it there.
"God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God" (II Corinthians 5:21, MSG).
Or as another version reads, "Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God" (II Corinthians 5:21, CEV).
Envision the moment. God on his throne. You on the earth. And between you and God, suspended between you and heaven, is Christ on his cross. Your sins have been placed on Jesus. God, who punishes sin, releases his rightful wrath on your mistakes. Jesus receives the blow. Since Christ is between you and God, you don't. The sin is punished, but you are safe, safe in the shadow of the cross.
This is what God did, but why, why would he do it? Moral duty? Heavenly obligation? Paternal requirement? No. God is required to do nothing.
Besides, consider what he did. He gave his Son. His only Son. Would you do that? Would you offer the life of your child for someone else? I wouldn't. There are those for whom I would give my life. But ask me to make a list of those for whom I would kill my daughter. The sheet will be blank. I don't need a pencil. The list has no names.
But God's list contains the name of every person who ever lived. For this is the scope of his love. And this is the reason for the cross. He loves the world.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…" (John 3:16, NLT).
As boldly as the center beam proclaims God's holiness, the crossbeam declares his love. And, oh, how wide his love reaches.
Aren't you glad the verse does not read: "For God so loved the rich…?" Or, "For God so loved the famous…?" Or, "For God so loved the thin…?"
It doesn't. Nor does it state, "For God so loved the Europeans or Africans…" "…the sober or successful…" "…the young or the old…"
No, when we read John 3:16, we simply (and happily) read, "For God so loved the world..."
How wide is God's love? Wide enough for the whole world. Are you included in the world? Then you are included in God's love.
It's nice to be included. You aren't always. Universities exclude you if you aren't smart enough. Businesses exclude you if you aren't qualified enough, and sadly, some churches exclude you if you aren't good enough.
But though they may exclude you, Christ includes you. When asked to describe the width of his love, he stretched one hand to the right and the other to the left and had them nailed in that position so you would know; he died loving you.
(Excerpt from "He Did This For You" by Max Lucado)