Today’s question to ponder for just 60 seconds come from C.S. Lewis’ reflections from his book The Four Loves on Jesus’ crucifixion that we remember today on Good Friday:
God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseeing – or should we say ‘seeing’? there are no tenses in God – the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time after time, for breath’s sake, hitched up.
If I may dare the biological image, God is ‘host’ who deliberately creates His own parasites; causes us to be that we may exploit and ‘take advantage of’ Him. Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves.
Your 60-Second Question: Do you find God’s love in the death of Jesus?
- Lewis says that God is a ‘host’ who creates his own ‘parasites’ (you and me) that we might exploit Him. Does this analogy ring true to you?
- Have you ever considered the fact that the relational community of Father, Son and Spirit was perfect and complete in itself? In no way does God ‘need’ us superfluous human creatures; what thoughts does that trigger for you?
- Lewis gives a graphic description of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Can you envision that suffering actually happened for you?
In a society that often settles for easy answers, my 60-second Question posts are mini-voyages in self-discovery. They invite you to take just 60 seconds out of your day to ponder a question that may offer new insights into yourself, God and the world around us. You might be surprised with the new insights or feelings generated by pondering a thought-provoking question for just 60 seconds.
