The Journal asked frequent contributor to comment on this subject of great significance to Christians.
Over the years it has become common to preach that God showed the depth of His love for us by allowing His Son, Jesus Christ, to be crucified for our sins. Jesus' crucifixion clearly demonstrated boundless love. Yet many have struggled with the concept that it could be in accord with the will of God, divine Love, that His Son, the living evidence of Love, be wickedly crucified. Isn't it clear that the crucifixion was a desperate attempt by the carnal mind, by evil, to put an end to the growing demonstration in Jesus' ministry that God's love delivers mankind from sickness, sin, and death? This hateful influence was reflected in the taunt that was hurled at Jesus on the cross: "He saved others; himself he cannot save." Matt. 27:42.
Jesus prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."Luke 22:42 The question is this: Did Jesus' prayer mean "I submit to death?" Or did it signify something beyond even this supreme human sacrifice—a willingness to lay on the altar any sense of life as separate from God and accept the truth that God was his Life?
