The Cross

I used to feel guilty about the Cross. The fact that my redemption required it made me feel responsible, but I'm not. The Cross was planned before creation. Without delving into the debate about predestination, scripture is clear that God knew we would fall and made His plan before He began the work.

The fact is that God recognized our sin before He made us and made a way for us to be reconciled. Before He said "Let there be light", the plan was in effect. Before He set Adam and Eve in the garden, or the serpent brought its convincing lie, the Cross was already on the horizon. I was only involved by implication.

If we need to place blame on a person, we have to lay it on Adam. He was the one who passed Sin to all of us. In Galatians 4, Paul discusses God's promise to Abraham, that "in thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed". He makes the point that Abraham believed God and God counted it as righteousness. The implicit point is that Abraham was guilty before God, even though his previous actions had been reflective of deep faith. The righteousness only came after God made a promise and Abraham believed it.

Did Abraham know that a cross was in the future? Did Adam? Job lived about the same time as Abraham, and he knew something (Job 19:23-27). That whole book is about his claim to integrity. He wanted his friends to understand that he hadnt done anything wrong. Still, he voiced his need for redemption.

To take his point literally, he didnt believe he had done anything worthy of punishment, yet he knew he was condemned. Where would that condemnation have come from? For that, we have to go back to Adam.  Before that, though, we must go back to eternity before creation. God knew what would transpire in the garden, but He created us anyway, triggering the chain of events that would lead to our condemnation. Is God responsible for our sin? No. He knew it would happen, though, and had a plan in place to circumvent the consequences.

The plan? The Cross.

So, should I feel guilty for the Cross? I dont think so. What I should feel is gratitude.