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Gerry Gutierrez' Update
This Easter week letter is one day behind “Faith without Cross.” What good is faith without good works that makes it visible? He, who dares to say he has faith but does not know the power of
grace in daily human relationships, deceives himself. When grace acquires a life of it’s own in the realm of words, then
a man has mastered a concept at the cost of reducing the Lord to an idea. Grace cannot be grasped by anyone unless Jesus by faith has become
the incarnation of Grace to that person. What make Grace by Faith visible
to the human heart and mind are the vertical and horizontal beams of the cross.
That is intimacy with God and intimacy with our fellow men in complete
reconciliation. It you are not being consumed by the weight of the cross, you cannot
cross the current of the rivers of life in your own weight and strength. The weight of the cross gives you stability. Jesus as the Pearl of great price is worth having but it will cost
you all that you are and not only what you have or can afford but yourself as
God in Jesus gave himself for us in love. The rejection of people based on “being too heavy” to carry, is
the best and first sign that faith is not involved in the enterprise of that
relationship. If you only do what you can afford, then you do not need faith. Faith is only necessary where you cannot do it on your own. If your Jordan River is ankle high, let the sheep lead the way and
the shepherd follow behind. If your Red Sea is only Knee High there is no
need for God or a miracle. Why would you ask the presence of God to go with you
if you can exodus on your own? Christianity without cross is at best a religious movement but not
a living and loving relationship of Grace on daily basis. How can you say to love God to whom you have not seen if you
do not love graciously your brother to whom you have seen. One of the imperative trademarks of a follower of Jesus is the Cross. “Take my cross upon you and follow me.” It is the Cross of Christ that Jesus requires of us to carry. The cross of Jesus is easy and his burden is light because it does
not have the weight of Sin. But the cross of men was heavy on Jesus
because of the weight of the sins of the whole world. Jesus was killed
under the crashing weight of the cross of our sins. My grandmother loved my grandfather for over sixty years, but she
used to say that grandpa was her cross. He was a strong headman. Jesus taught us to love the cross. Without the cross there is
no evidence of love. Who is your cross? Do you carry a cross or have you renounced the cross? If you wait for someone to be good enough to be worth of your help
to carry his cross, then you are not like Jesus. Good little boys and good
little girls do not need help with their cross because they are already “good”. It is the bad little boys and bad little girls that need help. It is the sick and not the healthy that need a doctor. When we were yet sinners Jesus died for the ungodly. Clever is he who does not carry his cross under so many pretexts. Wise it is he who carries the cross of Jesus and gloriously
follows the Master in the agony of adversity and the thrill of victory from
victory after victory and from glory to glory, from strength to strength. When we carry the cross of others, it is the cross of Jesus that
we carry nor ours or theirs because ours sins belong to Jesus who already
carried it all the way to consumption. Our cross is a cross of identification
with Jesus and the fellowship of his sufferings. Jesus the gracious Savior says: “He who comes to me, in no way
I will cast him away.” All you need to be accepted by Jesus is to
still be alive and come to him at the irresistible call of his voice. Furthermore Jesus said, “the harvest is plentiful but the
labors are few, ask to the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest
field.” The Lord seems to be always hiring for his harvest and there is no
record of him firing anyone from his harvest field, the truth is that he pays
the same amount to all workers including the latecomer such as the thief in the
cross. Salvation is too expensive but it has been paid. What is amazing is Jesus praying the following beautiful prayer, “Father
from those you give me I did not lose anyone but the traitor.” To
those who walk away are the only ones that Jesus let go like to the Rich
young ruler and Judas the traitor, because faith is based in trust, belief, and
love. No one can be forced to stay and walk together unless they agree. Beware my friend; religion will make you kind to the kind only. Jesus will make you kind to the unkind and unlovable. Be like
the master and follow his example by carrying freely the cross of others. How could you say to love God to whom you have not seen when you
do not love your brother to whom you have seen? How could you carry the cross of Jesus who has not sinned if you do
not carry the cross of your brother who has sinned? The cross of the sinner who is yet to know Jesus is the cross of
Jesus that you need to help carry, by loving first and still unlovable. In his name and mine I gently salute you in the truth for Easter
week. Gerry Gutierrez.
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