"Why?"
Children sometimes ask questions that are far deeper than what they think.
We listen to a lot of Bible-based music in our, especially when the children are with us. We listen to Hannah’s Hundred CDs so they can learn Bible verses (there’s nothing like hearing a tw0-year-old singing, “Thou shalt not commit adultery!”) and we listen to a lot of groups like Hallal, One Voice, and ZoeGroup.
Recently, I was in the car with the kids while Leah was running into a store and we were listening to a CD. A song came on about Jesus dying on the cross. Mary Carol asked a very basic question at first: “Why are they talking about Him dying?”
I tried to explain a little about the cross in very basic terms. The next question stunned me, though, and made me really think about some things. She asked, “Why does He keep having to die?”
Wow! What a question! To her, it was that they kept mentioning the cross in the song (and that we listen to many songs that talk about Jesus dying on the cross). However, her question meant far more than just a child-like notation of what was being sung.
How do I know? Let me quote a children’s song: “The Bible tells me so.”
The Hebrews writer put it this way:
For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding Him up to contempt.
Do you see the point? While Christ isn’t physically nailed to the cross again with each sin, our sins are constant reminders of why He was there. He died in our behalf and for our sins and, when we continually return to our sins, we are shaming the cross because we are ignoring what it does for us.
Why does He keep having to die? Because I sin!
May I do my best to avoid the shame that comes with remembering that I put Him there with my sin. As another song puts it so well: “It was my sin that nailed Him there.”
4 Comments
Robert
Have you heard the song, “Does He still feel the nails?” It drives me crazy, because the answer is obviously “No!” We serve a living God.
faughnfamilyof4
I know the song well.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with it because of this concept in Hebrews. While you may think it is a problem, I think it is a concept that reminds us of what put Christ on the cross.
I wish you would give a longer explanation of your reasoning for not liking the song. It’s an interesting discussion.
Robert
Thanks for replying.
Romans 6 talks about how we die to sin with Jesus through baptism. In doing so, we receive a “new life.”
In verse 9, Paul says, “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ”
That song is used primarily in youth group settings, and I’ve heard youth ministers use it as a scare tactic to keep kids in line. Certainly Romans 6 goes on to say that we should not go on sinning “so that grace may increase,” and this is a part of the story of our salvation that needs to be told. I also believe that your thought regarding the Hebrews passage is true as well. However, I don’t believe telling teenagers “every time you mess up, Christ suffers” is an appropriate message, because it cheapens grace.
Thanks for starting a good discussion.
faughnfamilyof4
Good comment.
There is something to be said about WHY we would use a song, as well. I hope I have never sung this song as a “scare tactic.”
However, I do think the song is appropriate if it is used as a reminder of us all that it is our sins that led to the cross. Many young people, I think, see only the sins that were BEFORE the cross as those that led to it’s need. They need to remember that ALL sins are the cause of the cross.
If you have more thoughts, I’d like to read them. Thanks for reading!