Joy In The Cross - Yes! Hallelujah!

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2.9-11]

I almost began this writing with "Yes! Hallelujah!" but then I stopped. I realized how many times I have meditated on this passage for the "then" of it without giving a thought to the "if" of its context. Let's explore that, shall we?

Philippians 2.9 starts off with "Therefore..." meaning all that follows is the result of something catalytic beforehand. We should understand what the "if" catalyst is that elevated Jesus to the "then" place of highest honor. To do so, we must back up a few sentences in the text:

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. [Philippians 2.6-8]

So, Jesus' "then" of being elevated to the place of highest honor was contingent upon the "if" of humbling Himself to the Cross. Now we should let our "Yes! Hallelujah!" fly, right? Hang on...

Since we don't want to jump to any conclusions in the middle of a thought, we should also consider the first word of Philippians 2.6: "Though..." This word begs us to consider what the word "though" is contrasting. To find out, we must back up yet a bit further.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [Philippians 2.3-5]

The point Paul is making is about the "if/then" of our lives! Paul is laying out the "if" necessary for us to enjoy the "then" of being seated with Christ in honor. The "if" Paul presented is accurate with Jesus' own repeated mandate:

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. [Luke 9.23-26]

Can you say, "Yes! Hallelujah!" now? You and I are called to have the same attitude about life as Jesus' had: with the cross as our goal. "Yes? Hallelujah?" Keep hanging on...

If we find ourselves struggling with our "Yes! Hallelujah!" at this point, we have come to a good place. We have come to the place of reality of being "in Christ." Here, we must understand something of eternal nature that is far above temporal earthly nature. Let's look at something else said of Jesus:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. [Hebrews 12.1-2]

There is joy to be had. 

I dare say that joy is the rarest of traits found among "Christians" today. Oh, there are happy Christians, just like I am happy to get a Snickers(R) candy bar, but, like with the candy bar, the happiness is not eternal, but very temporal: it will require another candy bar tomorrow to make me happy again. But it is not so with joy because joy is eternal. Joy is so powerful that it just the pursuit of it gladly endures "the cross" and "despises its shame." Joy, in fact, looks for a cross every day with a "Yes! Hallelujah!" resounding all the while. Why???

Joy can see that Jesus, exclusively as He pursued the temporal "if" of the cross, showed the way to the eternal "then" of highest honor. Joy can see that only as we pursue the "if" of our cross can we, not only like Christ, but in Christ, enjoy the "then" of eternal honor.

Jesus was not joking around when He said "Take up your cross and follow Me." There is joy in the highest honor (for eternity) beyond the cross. But..., the cross is the where we join Jesus so that we might enjoy the resurrection only He could secure. Regardless what we would like to believe otherwise:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

Have you found your "Yes! Hallelujah!" in pursuing your cross? Have you dealt with the "if/then" contingency of your cross and being a genuine Christian? How can you know? You can know when there is joy.

As scattered as this article seems, I believe there is continuity in its message. The underlying message continually being revealed to me is the cross. This life is simply not worth living without pursuing our cross.

Yes! Hallelujah! There is joy in the cross!

Father, may anyone who reads or hears this message consider the joy of their own cross. And, if they don't know that joy, reveal it to them in Jesus Christ as they submit to Him. So be it.