“He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Philippians 2:8
Our relationship with God is essential for our salvation.
God created humankind in His image, that they might live in fellowship with Him. Humankind’s relationship with God was to reflect the fellowship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is why God did not want humankind to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As soon as people assume the right to decide for themselves what is right or wrong, they are no longer in perfect fellowship with God. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit because they found it desirable (Gen 3:6). In fact, they placed more importance on their ego than on their relationship with God.
Even though humankind was separated from Him, God continued to love them. The Son of God renounced His glory and became man. As a true God, Jesus Christ showed His solidarity with humankind by accepting to live, suffer and die like them. As a true man, He proved that His relationship with God was more important than His own person. He resisted temptation and rejected the devil’s propositions. He did not give in to his threats, preferring to suffer and die rather than be at odds with God (Mt 26:39, 42).
It is through Jesus Christ’s obedience that we can be righteous (Rom 5:19), not through His sufferings. It would be wrong to suggest that Jesus suffered more than anyone else. There have been, and unfortunately still are, many people who endure worse sufferings than the Lord did at the cross—there is no limit to human cruelty. Jesus is not the only one who suffered despite being innocent. Let us think of the little children who have to suffer and die when they have done nothing wrong.
The salvific efficacy of Jesus’ sacrifice results from the perfection of His love. He obeyed the Father because He loved Him. He wanted what the Father wanted: to overcome evil to deliver people from the grip of sin.
Unable to live without sin, we are completely dependent on the grace that comes from the merit earned by Christ on the cross. To share in the fullness of this merit, we must do what God asks of us:
- To believe in Jesus Christ (Jn 6:40)—God wants us to trust Christ, without trying to understand and prove everything;
- To love God unconditionally—following His commandments (Jn 14:21) and renouncing ourselves to be in fellowship with Him;
- To love our neighbor as ourselves.
The Son of God renounced His glory to show His love to humankind. Jesus Christ renounced Himself to be in fellowship with God. His love and obedience give us access to salvation. To be saved, we must believe in Jesus Christ, love God and love our neighbor.