A Lightning Rod

lightning rodAt a conference at Concordia Seminary last February, professor Chuck Arand compared the cross to a lightning rod, something that takes on all the destructive force of nature and dissipates it.

I rather like that image because it captures so clearly the power that the cross has over the ferociousness of this world. We still jump when we see a flash of lightning. And we still are shaken up when we see the presence of evil in front of us in various forms. But we as Christians do not need to stay unsettled.

I think it is significant, therefore, to remember that at the time of the crucifixion, the sky turned dark, the earth shook and rocks were split apart. This sinful world itself was raging against Christ and the cross, but the cross and Christ himself withstood the terrible tumult. Nothing that the world tried to throw at him could stop the mission of Christ.

And that remains true today for us. The cross continues to serve as a lightning rod for us, pulling in and doing away with all that would threaten to hurt us and even kill us. The cross, by its power, continues to keep us safe amid the flashes of pain, the rumbles of doubt, the splitting of foundations.

No flash or rumble or splitting apart of any kind can ever destroy us because we have the cross to protect us and keep our lives intact. That is why Christ died and rose again for us. Let the cross absorb the brutality of this world and let our lives feel the comfort and joy of knowing that all evil is zapped of its strength by the crucified Christ.

 

 

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