“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw
all men to Myself.” (rf. Jn.
12:32)
When we consider this passage, we
usually envisage the cross of Christ, Jesus suspended in mid-air bleeding from
the many wounds inflicted upon Him because of our sins. On the surface, this
interpretation would be an accurate one. However, there is a more subtle, more
powerful message at the heart of this text.
Jesus is stating that if He and His
work of salvation (i.e. the Gospel) are “lifted
up”, or placed as center focus, then He will “draw all men” unto Himself. He presents to us a cause-effect
relationship. In other words, “if” we do this, “then” He will do that. In this
case, with the first condition, our responsibility is to focus all of our
attention, as His followers, on Him and His Gospel…nothing else. If we make
Jesus the center of everything we do, both inside and outside the church, then
He will magnify Himself, glorify the Father, and ultimately “draw all men” unto Himself. Jesus then
will take to Himself the responsibility of bringing people into a saving
relationship by the power of His Holy Spirit.
What Jesus is stating flies in the
face of much of what is passed off as present-day church growth encouragement
and initiative. Today’s theories revolve
around the idea that the church must track the trends of the surrounding
culture in order to gauge and follow suit
with events and programs that connect with these specific movements. The
idea is that if we meet people where they are, they will like us and then come
and join us. The more we can accommodate their tastes, desires, and goals, the
more that people will be interested in church, thus, coming to be a part. In
other words, according to these views, we should “enculturate” the church
instead of transforming those who come out of the culture by the power of the
resurrected Christ (rf. Php. 3:7-16).
By holding to the above, we tend to be relying on the “arm of flesh” in the hopes of redirecting the lives of unbelievers
in a positive manner, not bringing any real change in terms of their sins.
Rather, it has to be by the Spirit of God operating within them to bring about
what is necessary to change and renew their hearts and minds (rf. Rom. 12:1-2). This is why we are
falling short in reaching the people around us.
Let us commit as God’s people to
return to our “first love” (rf. Rev. 2:4-5). Let us consciously
make Jesus the center of our thoughts, worship, music, actions, and the
totality of our lives. Then, as we begin to do this consistently and
committedly, we will see Him draw people unto a saving relationship unto
Himself. Won’t that be exciting to be involved in such a work happening all
around us?
