Tough Love, Tough Jesus

Spirituality Column - #14 - February 13, 2007
Current! In Carmel newspaper

Tough Love, Tough Jesus
By Bob Walters

Lambs are gentle and sheep are stupid, but a good shepherd has to be tough enough and smart enough to make up for the weakness of the flock.

An attentive read of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) reveals a critical truth about the incarnate Christ Jesus – God become man – that runs counter to “Gentle Jesus” stereotypes.

Jesus was one tough customer.

Look at it another way … if sins are our weakness, and Jesus was without sin, how far from weakness was Jesus?

Pretty far.

We are the children of a loving God Who created the world to glorify Himself, then gave us freedom to seek Him and to love Him. Given the awesome power of God Almighty, it’s much more comforting for us to look at God in terms of gentle than tough; savior not disciplinarian; because, to tell you the truth, a tough God scares me.

But how tough can God be, if God loves us?

Put that another way – how tough would a Shepherd need to be to love us, to love this world, to love us in spite of our sin, to die a horrific death to redeem our lives in the eyes of God?
Most of the time I think, pretty tough.

So, Jesus … Gentle Lamb of God who died for our sins? Good Shepherd?

Here is the miracle of Christ ... He did the hard part. He was tough so we can receive the gentle gift of His love; a redeeming love that gives us peace and assures eternal salvation. “My yoke is easy and my burden is light … “ says Matthew 11:30.

“O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world …” goes the wonderful hymn. You can’t possibly think that was a gentle job.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com), a Carmel resident, thinks Valentine’s Day is no big deal compared with the redeeming love of Christ.