Cross Training - Doctrines of Faith and Humanity

Susan Klebold, the mother of Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold made this statement concerning her sons actions of killing 12 Columbine High School students and one teacher. “In raising Dylan, I taught him how to protect himself from a host of dangers: lightning, snake bites, head injuries, skin cancer, smoking, drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, drug addiction, reckless driving, even carbon monoxide poisoning. It never occurred to me that the gravest danger—to him, and as it turned out, to many others—might come from within.”

That is a heart-wrenching realization, to look at all the evil in the world and come to the conclusion that the greatest of all evil lies within. This is not a popular subject in sociological and psychological circles. Most people would dare say that humanity is good with a hint of evil, but that humanity is evil and that evil lies within each individual, never.

I've always looked at my own nature as two opposing forces (not to be confused with Star Wars), one evil the other good, almost like an alter ego. I looked up the term alter ego and found that the Latin definition of the term is - "The Other I." The Bible refers to the "other I" as the "old self." I heard one pastor refer to the "old self" as the "Dirty Old Man." For some strange reason that stuck with me.

Paul addressed this issue in his letter to the church in Ephesus -- 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires…Ephesians 4:22 (NIV). Paul's use of the action phrase "put off" meant to "lay aside" or to "throw away," and then to move on, meaning to walk away from our own evil desires. Solomon understood the same principle concerning what he knew of human nature - 11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness... Proverbs 26:11 (NLT)

That is a "truth" concerning human nature that is difficult to swallow isn't it (Pun intended). But the reality remains to be true, the fact that we struggle with evil at all means that we are inherently evil because we struggle with evil.

I think Paul is on to something then when he tells us the Roman Christians the answer - 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with... Romans 6:6-7 (NIV). The antidote is the cross. Don't get me wrong, nor misunderstand what Paul is writing. The antidote is the cross, but the evident power of the cross is seen in us as we yield our sin nature more and more on to the power of the cross, or the transforming power of the cross as it yields a "new self."

So truly, the cross becomes a lifestyle of dedication, daily approaching the cross as a means of grace instead of daily approaching the dinner from last evening we regurgitated just minutes before.

Still want to hear what you think.



Randy