Taking It All to the Cross, Our First Response

[HKHaugan]

One of the obstacles to being a first responder is self-denial. That is we use the technique of denial as a way to escape or justify our thoughts, our emotions and our actions. What are the things we try and keep in the dark, the things we fear will be known about us, the way we really think and feel, about ourselves, about others and life in general? What are our real inner struggles, wishes, dreams and fantasies? What about our doubts, insecurities and failures?

Then that kind of all-embracing struggle in everyone---the good we know and want to do but never quite get it done and the evil that burns our conscience but still has us in its grip. This condition is the burden everyone bears from birth. Its final denial is seen in the way we work to overcome it alone. We look at what the world around us considers the best way to fill our time, develop and use our skills, find emotional satisfaction and use people who can help us achieve those goals. In the midst of all this we deny the obvious---it can’t be done alone and there is no final payoff.

Alone without God we are a half full glass that eventually runs out. We have the equipment for being fully human but alone we fumble. There is still the half empty part to fill. Where do we get the necessary internal direction to deal with anxiety, irritability, impatience, mutual dislike, suspicion, distrust, dishonesty, injustice and the sea of attitudes that surround us? These are both internal and external shoals that lie just beneath the surface of our daily life which is processed in our aloneness. They keep us in the half empty state of mind.

The way self-denial first appears is in our pride. I tell myself “I can handle it.” But if we really look behind pride’s source we find fear the fuel of pride. “I’m afraid of being seen as inadequate. I want to be seen as someone who can overcome anything. I don’t need help.” “I’ll work harder to be accepted.”

The second way self-denial is seen is in our excuses. Try this set: “The circumstances were overwhelming.” “Other people always get the breaks.” “He got the job because he knew the right people.” “The girl I was dating wanted a rich guy instead of me.” “I came from a poor background and bosses like the preppy type.” “No one has ever liked the way I look.” “I’m an introvert.” “I’m not a quick study.” “If I knew more they’d accept me…” and on and on.

The third kind of self-denial is blame. “I’m not the problem here. They are.” “If she hadn’t opened her mouth…” “That cop had a quota. He was just looking for someone to stop.” “The reason we are in this mess is because of him.” “My parents liked my brother better than me.” “My dog ate my homework.” “My wife didn’t wake me on time.” “My boss hates me.” “If she hadn’t picked on me all the time we’d still be together.” “It’s the neighborhood I grew up in.”

Pride, fear, excuse and blame are evil spirit-directed operatives in the laboratory of sin. They are the compound found in the chemistry of the devil’s manipulation and strategy to encourage our retreat into self-deceit which is his goal of final self-denial. They are personified in him. He is the ultimate proud self-denier and self-deceiver, the ultimate sinner, the self-consuming force of evil. His is a personal agenda. Get people to reject God any way you can. Isolate each person. Exploit their weaknesses. Breed distrust, emotional disruption, impetuous decisions and self-justification. These are ongoing symptoms of the nagging invisible tempter’s strategy. He’s there in our every next moment building as much inner temptation and its frustration as he can. He’s the enemy of first response. He wants us to respond the same way every time. Think and do whatever you want.

All of the above is the bad news. It’s important to expose it and deal with it because the truly good news is that we have the Lord Jesus who is stronger than the devil and his bad news. “You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1Jn.4:4).” He was the first to expose, confront and defeat the devil. That defeat was accomplished through the Cross, the visible physical behavior motivated by an invisible spiritual decision. The Cross was a spiritual response in three perfect ways. It was a perfect believing response based on the Word of God. It was a perfect trusting heart responding to a loving Father’s will. It was a perfect Spirit faith response sacrificing His body in love. Jesus, the First Responder, “…is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word (Heb.1:3).”

If the Cross is the basis for our first response then this makes every response from that point on a first response as opposed to playing it safe. That’s the world’s response via temptation and self-indulgence courtesy of the devil. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of first response. First response is the life of Jesus through the Spirit. Like the hymn says, “New every morning, new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness O Lord, great is Thy faithfulness.”