Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Do you ever play Monopoly? This board game has two stacks of cards from which to draw when your token lands on the right space. One of the cards is the “get out of jail, free” card shown below. In Monopoly, an unlucky roll of the dice lands you in jail and this card is your pass to freedom.
I often think of this card when reading certain Bible verses, perhaps because I used to have a stack of similar size cards that helped me memorize scriptures. Looking back, this approach may have been less helpful than intended. Many of the scriptures that became embedded in my memory gave me a wrong understanding, because the scripture cards isolated these verses from their context. When we do this, we run the risk of proof-texting – using a particular verse to support a predetermined conclusion or belief.
Many of the verses that I committed to memory now make a much greater emotional impact on me. For example, today when I read 2 Corinthians 5:17 I feel both joy and sadness. It says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (ESV). In union with Jesus Christ as Lord, the Christian has been made into something new.
I feel joy reading this verse, reassured that before we have even tried to live well, before we became one of his disciples, Jesus extended his life and forgiveness to us. The author of life, who we killed, was resurrected and gave us new life. The Father handed us the masterpiece of his Son and told us that when he looks at us he sees perfection. By the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit we are given the gift of participating in the relationship between Father and the Son.
As the apostle Paul explained, all things have life, breath and movement in Jesus. He also explained that when Jesus died, all died. Now he is resurrected and we all have new life. He has reconciled us and we can now share actively in a relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus has freed all humanity, even though not all know it or live it out yet. Knowing that anyone can walk out of that prison gives me great joy.
When Jesus redeemed us, he returned us to our original and rightful owner. Salvation is sharing in the life—the communion—that Jesus has with the Father. We miss out on the peace, joy, love and other benefits of our salvation if we resist or deny that reality. And a fact that should not be overlooked is that we cannot reflect the relationship with God that Jesus has with the Father if we don’t live in that relationship. Jesus’ whole saving ministry is to take us to the Father and send us the Holy Spirit so that we might live in the fullness of life and fellowship with God that he gives to us.
But my joy in this is mixed with sadness. I remember how I used to understand scriptures like 2 Corinthians 5:17, having learned them as proof-texts used to reinforce legalism. Sadly, many do this—teaching that our relationship with God is like a business transaction that must be negotiated and then constantly maintained by our good behavior. People who embrace this false idea are like the poor guy in the cartoon above—sitting in jail, not realizing that Jesus has given them a “get out of jail, free” card. As a result, they remain in a prison of ignorance, disbelief and, at times, rebellion against their own freedom.
As it says in the book of Revelation, Jesus stands at the door and knocks. But he is knocking at a door that he has already unlocked. Our mission is to join the Holy Spirit who is with people in prison and help them see that the door is open so that they might walk out into the light and life that is theirs in union and communion with our Triune God.
Your brother in Christ,
Joseph Tkach
