Whom We Worship

Why does modern Christianity like to talk around the cross? We allude to it with nice-sounding phrases and talk in peachy platitudes. The “pop” Christian songs, when they do talk of Jesus’ work (as opposed to how much WE love Him) talk about His power and majesty, and maybe they’ll reference His crucifixion with a vague salvation phrase. If I were a seeker at a “seeker-sensitive service,” I might wonder why Jesus is so wonderful and worthy of praise and why should I love Him?
Why should we worship what we are reluctant to directly address, namely a Messiah who came to suffer and die and take our place on the cross? When humans extract Christ from Christianity, what’s left? “I”-anity.