J Heinrich Arnold-Freedom from sinful thoughts.pdf

FREEDOM FROM SINFUL THOUGHTS - T H E C R O S SNaturally it cannot end here, however. Theexperience of personal purification at the cross is vital,yet to remain focused on that alone would be useless.Christ’s love is so great, it must lift our minds above ourlittle struggles – and any preoccupation with our ownsalvation – so that we can see the needs of others, andbeyond that the greatness of God and his Creation. Thecross is so much greater than the personal; it has cosmicsignificance, for its power embraces the whole earth andmore than this earth!There are secrets that only God knows, and thecrucifixion at Golgotha is perhaps the greatest of themall. In his Letter to the Colossians (1:19–20) Paul speaksof its mystery and says only that it pleased God to let hisfull nature dwell in Jesus and to reconcile to himselfeverything on earth and in heaven “through theshedding of his blood on the cross.” At the cross, then,not only earth but also heaven and all the powers andprincipalities of the angel world will be reconciled toGod. Certainly not we, and maybe not even the angels,will ever fully understand this. But one thing we know:Christ overcame death, the last enemy, and through this,something took place that continues to have power farbeyond the limits of our planet.72