imagine

In 1971 John Lennon scored a huge hit with his song Imagine. It described an imaginary world very different from the one he experienced and which is still very different from the world we are living in today. However a lot of the points mentioned in this song resonate with us: A world living in peace, a world without greed, without hunger. Also the imagination of a world without religion seems to appeal to many people: As of May 2019, this song has more than 650,000 likes on the official John Lennon YouTube channel.

 As a Christian it is of course sad to see that so many people associate faith or religion with bad attributes; that a world without it would be a better place. And it is true in a sense: Religion in the past has not always been a cause for good, sometimes through the misuse of, sometimes through the adhering to the very message which is the foundation of the respective faith. This article wants to take you on a journey. It wants you to imagine a hypothetical case.

hypothetical, adjective
imagined or suggested but not necessarily real or true

Cambridge Dictionary

Imagine there were no Romans

Imagine you are living on a planet called earth. Not too hard to do for the beginning.

Imagine further that this planet is close to being perfect: There is no pollution, no wars, no poverty, no hunger. The 99 people living with you on earth are perfect. They are saints. They don‘t do anything wrong … nor have they ever done anything wrong. Basically you are living the dream. Now that is a little harder to imagine.

Imagine that you by real world standards are also living a relatively good life. You have never killed anyone, not even an animal. The thought of it makes you sick. You help elderly people cross the streets, you are trying to be nice. And lots of times it kind of works out, but: You are not perfect. From time to time

• you lie (just the normal emergency lies, the lies that don’t harm anyone, and the lies you think other people want to hear),
• you steal (things that do not plunge anyone into their ruins; things which are not of too much material value, sometimes even as small as an idea or a thought which you claim to be yours),
• you curse (take God‘s name in vain),
• you dishonor your parents,
• you worship yourself (for what you have done, how you look, how you perform).

From time to time you feel bad about that. Deep down inside something is telling you that something is wrong with you; that what you are thinking, what you are doing, what you are saying is not totally right. But … you shake it off: After all you can go overboard with everything, right? Sometimes the 99 around you have the atrocity to bring your „small imperfections“ to your attention. Sometimes you think they have a point, sometimes you think they should just shut up, mind their own business, and be more human like you.

Imagine a normal day, everything is as usual. Like a thousand days before. Like a thousand days that would surely follow. You wake up, get ready for work, and leave your home. Suddenly … a person stands before you. A person you have not seen before. You know you haven’t seen this person before because you know all the other 99: It is person 101. Someone has just miraculously entered your world. (Authors note: Usually he is depicted as a nice looking guy with long, curly hair. If that is true: Nobody knows.) His name … is Jesus!

Imagine further that he like the other 99 people around you points you to your sin and calls you to repentance. You remember that whenever the other 99 talked with you about this subject something was stirred up inside of you, something touched you deep down in your soul. But this guy, he has more than that: He comes with authority. His call to repentance resounds in your body like the low frequencies out of a subwoofer, just stronger. There is no way around it anymore. You see yourself as the person you really are: A sinner! You are convicted. You ask for forgiveness: „What must I do to be forgiven?“

Imagine Jesus serious face lighting up for the first time, a little bit only, not too much.

„Friend“, he says, „do you know who you have sinned against? Do you know who you have offended?“

„A … loving God!?“, you reply. It comes across the way you mean it: Not really sure, more as a question.

„Well, that’s true”, Jesus replies, “but also against a holy, righteous God! Against a God who cannot stand evil, who cannot stand wickedness. A God who cannot just overlook sin. A God who calls himself righteous, a righteous judge. How would you call a judge who would turn a blind eye to evil?”

“A … bad judge!?” Again more of a question than a certain answer.

“You got that one right,” Jesus replied. “But he would not only be bad, not only be not just, not only be not righteous: Such a judge would be corrupt even by worldly standards. God cannot just forgive your transgressions like this: Your sins must be paid for!“

You suddenly realize the severity of your situation:
„What can I do? Is there anything I can do to make this right?“

„No, you can’t,“ Jesus replies. After a small pause he continues: “This is why I entered this world. I am here to present to you the two choices you have.“

With an anxious voice you ask: „What are they?“

„Well,“ Jesus says, „Option one is you go to hell!“

You just look at his face which is friendly but serious. You look at him and wait for the next words out of his mouth. Around you anything could happen which would usually catch your attention within a fraction of a second. Not today, not now.

„You could receive what you deserve and go to hell! You knew that there were things that were the right things to do like respect truth, like respect property, like respect your parents, like respect my name. And you deliberately chose to do otherwise.” A small pause.

“You could receive what you deserve and go to hell and be with Satan and his angels who – like you – chose to worship themselves; to worship creation rather than me, the creator and sustainer of all things. Me, the only one worthy of praise, worthy of worship. And well, to bring this point home: You also broke the greatest commandment. You never loved me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The person you loved the most was and is yourself!“

With every word you sink deeper and deeper into despair. You know he is right. Just when you are about to lose hope by the crushing verdict you had just received you remember: „Ok, I think I will take option two!“

„You sure?“, Jesus replied. „You haven‘t yet heard what option two is.“

„I think it can’t be worse than option one, right?“

A little smile from Jesus: „Not for you at least!“

In a serious tone Jesus continues: „If you want to go with option two there are a couple of things we have to do.“

„I am listening“, your simple reply is.

„Come and follow me!“

Imagine you following Jesus into a forest. All the beauty around you, the sounds, the smells which usually mesmerize you: They all seem kind of pale today. You are quiet since you are thinking about what might happen to you: Would it hurt? Would it cost you a lot? In some moments of clarity you also think about your past and how stupid you had been so many times: Why didn’t you listen to your parents and the other people around you? They were talking about someone being up there whom you would have to face someday. In the future. In the distant future which chose to stop by today. Why did you chose to do the wrong things when you knew they were the wrong things?

Jesus doesn’t seem to mind the silence. He himself seems to be occupied with himself as well. His lips are moving at times, seems like he is praying. You think that this might be a good idea for you as well so you start praying too. Something you had not done in years.

At some point Jesus stops, points at a huge tree and says: „That one should do!“

„Ok, what do you want me to do?“, you ask anxiously.

While dropping his gear Jesus points to a nearby place and says: „You can sit over there!“

„Ok“, you say and while you head over to the place Jesus pointed out you keep your eyes on the axe Jesus starts to sharpen.

After you have settled down Jesus walks over to you, kneels down with one knee on the ground, his arms settled on the other one holding the axe.

“I want you to watch and listen. Watch and listen. Listen to every strike that I will make to that tree. Watch how I sweat, watch how I work, watch how much effort it will take me. I want you to really watch, I want you to really listen.”

“OK.”

“There is another thing I want you to do. I want you to say every time I hit this tree: ‘There is nothing I can do to make this right.’ With every one of my strikes I want you to say it and say it loud: ‘There is nothing I can do to make this right!’ Your life depends on it so take this seriously.”

“OK”, you say. Right now you would pretty much do anything that Jesus tells you. And for a start it doesn’t seem too bad even though it is uncomfortable to admit this truth.

Jesus walks over to the tree. He makes sure to have a firm stand, swings, and hits:

“There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”

He changes sides and hits again:

“There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”
Hit. “There is nothing I can do to make this right!”

This goes on for an eternity, at least it feels like it. Suddenly you hear the tree cracking. While Jesus takes a few steps to the side the tree begins to fall. You are thankful that Jesus made sure that it would fall away from you: Lost in your thoughts you had totally forgotten to think about stuff like gravity.

Now Jesus starts to chop of the branches and to debark the tree. When finished with this he starts to work with the trunk: He saws and planes and … well, he does this carpenter stuff which you really cannot describe since you are missing the right words. It seems that he makes two long beams, rectangular in profile. One is about double the size of the other one. Then he puts the small piece across the big piece: The grooves which he had made on both beams match up perfectly. He is satisfied and joins both pieces together. You don’t know what this is supposed to resemble. What is this supposed to do?

Jesus now makes his way over to you. He is tired: You can see it in his face, you can see it in his eyes. Again he kneels down before you. He already got his breath back but it takes him a long time to finally start talking.

“Now option two goes like this. You don’t argue, you don’t debate. I don’t want any suggestions, and I certainly don’t want to hear from you ‘You have got to be kidding me!’. This is deadly serious and I am not kidding with anything I say. Do you understand?”

“Yes”, you say. Feelings: Somewhere between frightened and terrified.

“Alright”, Jesus says before another long pause. He seems to wrestle with something. He seems not to be ready for what is about to happen. He closes his eyes and starts to pray again. Several times he tries to start speaking but his voice is failing him. You just sit there and wait. Again for an eternity. At least this is how it feels. You are starting to feel uncomfortable. Finally:

“OK. I want to explain to you first why you had to say ‘There is nothing I can do to make this right!’ over and over and over again. The reason is that there will come a time in the future when people will tell you that you can. There will come a time in the future when people will tell you that you have to do things to make this right. I want you to know then that this is not true, and I want you then to give this lie not the smallest amount of room in your thoughts. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“There is nothing you can do to make this right. Nothing! This is why I came: I am going to do what it takes to make this right.”

“OK.”

“Now, listen: There is no nice way to say this … so I won’t.”

He hands a small bag over to you with one hand, with the other a piece of paper. “Read.”

You start reading: “In order to be justified before my Father you need to believe in me. Believe means that you trust and that you obey. Now here is what you need to do. This bag contains everything you need for that.

• First … you have to torture me until you can see open wounds all over my body. In my wounds I will provide healing for the sickness of all mankind.
• After that you have to make me carry the Cross, the wooden thing I just made, up the hill outside of the city. I will not make it all the way: You will have to help me with the rest. Again remember: Even though you help me carry the Cross for the rest of the way, this is not you earning your salvation. I cannot stress this enough: You cannot buy anything from me!
• On that peak you will find a hole in the ground. I have already prepared that before I showed up at your place this morning. You will have to erect the Cross in such a way that it stands up vertically, the long end into the ground. Before you erect the Cross you will have to put me on that Cross. The way you have to do it: Arms stretched out across the small beam, through every hand you drive a nail. My feet you put on the long end of the big beam, also one nail through both my feet. You will know that you have done it right when I hang on the Cross head upwards when the Cross is erected. On that Cross I will carry every single one of your sins. My Father in heaven will crush me for that. He will abandon me for that. I will pay the price for your sins which is death.
• After I have died on that Cross you will have to put me in a tomb. I will rise again after 3 days. I will conquer death so that you can live.
• The bag contains also a book for discipleship. After you have done all of this you will still stumble and fall. This book will pick you up again and tell you how you can be sanctified after I have justified you through my blood. I will pay for your salvation but you will have to walk in it. Don’t stop, don’t forget, don’t fall back. Grow in holiness. Imitate me, my holiness. Imitate the love that I proved to you even though you were still my enemy. It is your goal to become like me.
• That’s all.”

You have read the note to the end but you pretend you are still reading. You know Jesus is still kneeling in front of you. Probably looking at you. Probably praying. You just don’t want to look up. You are silent. After a long time you finally lift your head. You want to say: “You are kidding me, right?”, but you bite your tongue. What you have just read seems too horrible to be true. You are pinching yourself to wake up, to finally wake up. But you don’t. You can’t. This is not a dream. This is reality. After a long pause you attempt to speak but your voice is failing you. After trying several times you finally manage to say: “I can’t!”

“This is option two that I have written down for you. There is no third one. You said that option number one was not for you. Or have you changed your mind?”

“No, but I can’t … I … I can’t do this stuff. It is not in me. I can’t just … I can’t just f***ing kill you!”

Jesus looks puzzled: “First of all, you have just cursed. Another sin you might have to put on my shoulders should you take option two. And secondly: For you it is probably hard to understand but for my Father it is as impossible to forgive your cursing as it is to forgive you killing somebody. It is sin and unless it has been paid for in full you are on your way to hell. Do you understand?”

“I can’t!”

“Listen, your choice is hard but it is simple. I give you the time to think it through. But don’t think too long: When you die without making this conscious decision to trust and obey me, the default choice is option one and you go to hell for eternity. I give you your time. Once you are ready call my name: I will be there.”

Suddenly he is gone. Suddenly you are relieved. Shortly after that you are frightened: Jesus is not kneeling in front of you anymore, he is not pushing for a decision, but the decision is still yours to make. You start weeping your heart out. Time passes. How much: You don’t know. Your entire life feels like on hold. You call out for Jesus. He comes. He stands before you and says: “Enough said: Let’s go!”

You say: “I am so sorry!” Then you strip Jesus of his clothing, scourge him until you can see deep, open wounds all over his body. You drive him up the mountain with the Cross on his torn back. All of that he endures without complaining, without pleading for mercy. You see his divinity. You see the humanity of his mortal body when he breaks down under the weight of the Cross. After you have helped him up the rest of the way, you nail him to the Cross and erect it. There are no words to describe the scene: There he hangs and you stand before him, not able to lift your eyes to what you have just done. Your hands are full of blood, not yours, but his. You turn around to see that there is nobody besides you; not to the left, not to the right. You stand there and listen to him trying to breath. You cannot look up to see the man who is praying for you while in pain no words in human language can describe. You feel devastated. You feel relieved that God will finish what you have started. You see the sky darkening. You sense the horrifying reality of this situation: God is crushing his only begotten Son who knew no sin. He never sinned. He never fell. He becomes sin. Stepping in for you he legally accepts the punishment stored up for you. You did not take his life: He gave it. Willingly. He dies. You bury him. He rises. You wake up.

Imagine how relieved you are that all of this was just a dream.
Imagine it.

However somehow this dream does not let go of you. It haunts you. It follows you. Even though the population of planet earth is back to billions again and you have your friends and your family around you, you kind of miss this man, this 101. The one who was so different from you. The one who was so different from every person you know. The one who was willing to give it all for a wretch like you. Could this be real? Could there be truth to it? You take the Bible from the shelf, this old book with a layer of dust on top.

Imagine opening it to a reading mark somebody has placed in Luke 15:

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Luke 15:3-7 [NIV]

Straightening Things out

Couple of years ago I was thinking about the Cross. It was really bugging me that I was relating stone cold to what Jesus had done for me on the Cross, at least most of the time when I was not watching movies like “The Passion of the Christ“. While I was thinking about this a thought crossed my mind. This hypothetical case which I have just shared with you took hold of me: ‘What if there were no Romans (to crucify Christ for you)? What if the Jews wouldn’t have pushed for Jesus’ death? What if you had to do it for yourself … or go to hell?’

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.”

John Stott

It helps me to see the Cross more as something personal, something which not only requires an intellectual response but also an emotional. Maybe it will help you too. As far as I understand the God of the universe through his word (the Bible) I come to the conclusion that he would do such an unfathomable thing: That he would send his only begotten Son, even if it was only for me. This requires a worthy response, at least as worthy as we as human beings are capable of.

If you are not a Christian, if you are not following Christ, or you are doing it lukewarm:

“Imagine [this being true].”

“Imagine [this being true while] all the people [just] living for today.”

Wouldn’t this be sad beyond expression? Wouldn’t it be worth to investigate if there is some truth to it? Maybe it is time for you to start …