"What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." -Acts 17:23-25
My wife-to-be is slightly dyslexic and has had trouble in the past going up and down stairs. She shows great coordination in the rest of her activities, but can't seem to master the stairs. It has become a point of humor between us when she simply misses a step or can't decide between landing on the next step or the one after it. It is also enjoyable watching her calculate when to step onto an escalator. Certainly, I don't want her to get hurt or embarrassed, so when I'm with her around stairs, I reach out my hand or hold onto her shoulders to help her make it up or down. Sometimes, especially when she's tired, she will grab my hand extra tight or lean on my shoulders to make sure she gets to the next floor safely. However, at other times her hand simply rests in my hand and I feel less than needed.
Let's imagine for a moment that salvation is the stairway from the depravity of mankind to the glory of Heaven. Sometimes in our lives, we treat Christ as the handrail. Surely we hold onto Him with a firm grip and when we can't make it on our own, we pull ourselves up with Christ. Jesus as the handrail provides that fire insurance in our lives and that security blanket. Times get tough or our sanctification is slow going, but we hold onto Jesus to keep from slipping back down until we can muster the strength to keep climbing the stairs. We say to the Son of God, "Look at me! I can almost make it on my own. With Your help and sacrifice on the cross, I'll be able to make it to the top." How insulting! Christ's work on the cross does not pick up where we leave off. Our sinful nature prohibits any attempt to make it to God on our own, even with a little bit of Jesus thrown in.
So maybe you've figured it out. Maybe you've already concluded that you must stop using Jesus and the Gospel simply as a handrail in your life. Maybe you've already finished my analogy, "I know, Jesus is more like an escalator. Only through His work on the cross can I find complete redemption. It is also my responsibility to climb the salvation escalator while it moves to add my part to my sanctification." Wrong! Jesus Christ is not our escalator. This is as insulting as putting Jesus as our handrail. Not only does Jesus not pick up where we leave off, we also do not pick up where Jesus leaves off. This would assume the mindset shared among the Areopagus of Athens in Acts 17. "Nor is He served by human hands, as though he needed anything." We cannot add to our salvation or impress God with our speed of sanctification. It is the Lord of heaven and earth that gives to us life and breath and everything. Our sinful nature prohibits any attempt to make it to God on our own, even while riding the grace of the Gospel.
Instead, Jesus Christ is our elevator. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the beginning, middle, and end. He is the Alpha and Omega. Nothing we do can add to our salvation or impress God with the hard work we put into our sanctification. Instead, once we are placed on the elevator of Christ's redeeming work on the cross, we are freed to respond with a life of obedience to our Creator and Savior. We no longer need to focus on gripping the handrail and pulling ourselves up the stairs. We no longer need to focus on not tripping on the escalator or running up the already moving stairs. We are completely and fully saved by God's grace in Christ. Then we can focus on responding with a life of worshipful obedience. The slavery to worry is gone, the joy in service grows, our love deepens. The people of God are freed to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ to the fullest when we realize this beautiful message of grace every day.
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