What is the “normal” Christian life? That’s actually harder to answer than many think. It’s perhaps too common, but we tend to understand normal through our experiences. We assume that the way we practice faith is “normal.” But is it?
When we speak of “normal,” we end up in a bit of a pickle. Our normal is shaped by our personal experiences and expectations. That confusion is especially felt when you consider the vast differences found in local secular and religious culture. For example, my evangelical church experience is far different than my Lutheran neighbors. And that’s the pickle; our community of faith shapes our expectation of normal.
But there is a five-dimensional expression of the normal Christian life for all believers found in the very center of our faith – the Cross of Christ. This metaphor is not a replacement for the concrete meaning and purpose of the Cross. I embrace all that Jesus did for us with His death on the cross. It is instead a way of seeing how our relationship with Jesus is lived out in real life. These dimensional expressions are found in the shape of the cross. It’s a simple shape; a vertical beam transected with a horizontal beam about 1/3 from the top.
The vertical beam expresses God’s relationship with us and our relationship with God. With one end anchored in dirt and the other reaching for the sky, it seems to bridge the gap between heaven and earth.
The first dimension in the normal Christian life is found in God reaching down to us. Paul reminds us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NASB95) Perhaps the most poignant picture of this is found in the Parable of the Lost Son when the father ran to greet the returning wayward son (Luke 17:11-32). God ran to greet each one of us into His kingdom and life. That desire of God for a relationship with each one of us continues throughout our life in Christ.
The second dimension of the vertical beam is grounded in the dirt. It is a picture of us reaching up to God. Contained here are our expressions of worship and prayer in all their forms. There are many examples in the Bible of prayer and worship. Consider this snippet from Psalms 36, “Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm 36:5–7, NLT) It is important to recognize that there are many styles of expression in this dimension of the Cross. Prayers that touch thanksgiving, intercession, confession, and petition in many different styles. Worship that includes music and/or singing but is also found in giving and in quietness.
The horizontal beam expresses the love, compassion, grace, and mercy we are to show others. On the one hand, is our relationship with other believers in Christ. How do we treat each other? The best way to gain an understanding of this aspect of the “normal” Christian life is to study the “one another” verses. Throughout the New Testament are verses such as “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24, NASB95) Each one of the “one another” verses adds to the picture of our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The other end of the horizontal beam is the expressions of love, compassion, grace, and mercy we extend to the world around us. Like worship and prayer, this encompasses many expressions. It could be something as simple as a smile or an expression of caring. It could be a reminder of God’s love in the heartache of a moment. It could be a shared prayer or a cup of water. It could be sharing from God’s Word and proclaiming His love with sinners.
The four dimensions of the Cross – God to us, us to God, towards one another, and towards the world are easy to discern. There’s symmetry and balance in them that we are invited to enjoy. But what about the 5th dimension?
So far, we’ve considered how our lives in Christ have a cross-shaped look and balance to them. But the Cross of Christ also had depth. The final dimension of the Cross-shaped life is the many ways the Holy Spirit continues to mold and shape us. It is the internal and personal changes we experience as we walk out our faith in Christ.
My life thirty or so years ago was crossed-shaped in its expressions. But through the depth of time, my inward thoughts and feelings have become more cross-shaped. Less rigid and more gracious. Less condemning and more accepting. Less law and more mercy. Less fake or contrived and much more real. Less religious and more relational to both God and others. However, I must admit that I’m still far from fully formed. Most of those changes developed as I grew to understand and embraced the fullness of the Cross.
The “normal” Christian life is cross-shaped and is also being shaped by the cross. The externals of what that looks like may vary greatly, although they must maintain their balance. Our inward life in Christ will always grow towards being cross-shaped if we’re accepting of God’s touch.
My prayer for you is the same as Paul’s to the Ephesians. I pray “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17–19, NASB95)
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