Crucified by Christians

I remember reading somewhere a quote that has stayed with me even though I want it to go away. Here it is. Read it at your own risk. "When God wants to really love someone, someone gets crucified."
I warned you.

What I didn't count on when I read that quote was that it would come true over and over again in my own experience. And what makes it even worse is that many of the crucifixions I have witnessed have been Christians crucifying Christians. Some of my own crucifixions have been carefully executed by believers.

Delivering God's love is not for the faint at heart. Love of a certain quality is only delivered by painful betrayal and false accusations. Read the life stories of some of God's most famous saints and you will find than many of them were crucified by Christians. Even so, a great kind of love lingers in the world for centuries because of their crucifixions.

I have no idea what it is that makes us want to judge others and put an end to another's reputation or life, but it runs deep in all of us--including me. We take a kind of perverse pleasure in finding others to be less than we find ourselves to be.

When I teach the Satisfying LIfe course I often ask the group if they think God really loved His Son Jesus. They always answer "yes!" Then I ask "If so, would you want to be treated like His Father treated Him?" There is usually a very uneasy silence and few volunteers.

When God wants someone to be truly loved, someone will suffer for that to happen. I think that is what Cross-bearing is about.

Sometimes when I bring this up in a teaching setting someone will ask "Doesn't having great faith shield us from pain?" That is a popular thought here in Brazil. I respond by saying "Have you ever read who it was that gave faithful Job's address to the Devil?"

I do want to love like Jesus did. I really do. I just struggle with this quote when it is my turn to deliver such love.

Please forget you heard this quote from me! Blame anonymous.