Cross View Blog
Cross Views
How We See Jesus
October 12, 2023
The resplendent altar window of the Chapel at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
impacts our view of Jesus as the Living Lord of Creation.
Our experiences in life partly shape our perspective of Jesus. We "see" Jesus through the lens of who we are in life. At the same time, however, Jesus changes our perspective and view of Himself. Both things happen in the paradox of faith.
When we present Jesus to others, let us remember to describe Him in terms of their experiences and interests, not merely our own. That way Jesus is more likely to become their great treasure and pearl of great price.
To illustrate how our personal perspective impacts our view of Jesus, someone has written the following:
WHO JESUS IS
To the artist, He is the one altogether lovely. (Song of Solomon 5:15)
To the architect, He is the chief cornerstone. (I Peter 2:6)
To the baker, He is the bread of life. (John 6:35)
To the banker, He is the hidden treasure. (Matthew 13:44)
To the carpenter, He is the door. (John 10:7)
To the doctor, He is the great physician. (Jeremiah 8:22)
To the educator, He is the great teacher. (John 3:2)
To the farmer, He is the sower and the harvester. (Luke 10:2)
To the geologist, He is the rock of ages. (I Corinthians 10:4)
To the horticulturist, He is the true vine. (John 15:1)
To the judge, He is the only one truly righteous. (II Timothy 4:8)\
To the lawyer, He is counselor and true advocate. (Isaiah 9:6)
To the news reporter, He is tidings of great joy. (Luke 2:10)
To the philosopher, He is the Wisdom of God. (I Corinthians 1:24)
To the preacher, He is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13)
To the sculptor, He is the living stone. (I Peter 2:4)
To the servant, He is the true master. (Matthew 23:8-10)
To the sinner, He is the Lamb of God. (John 1:29)
To the Christian, He is the Son of the Living God,
the Savior, the Redeemer, the Lord and Coming King.
The Apostle Paul became all things to all people so that he could save some. Jesus becomes all things to all people so that He might save everybody.
Paul Emmel
The Nineteenth week after Pentecost
2023
Paul Emmel is a retired pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, having served as a parish pastor, a correctional chaplain for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and a hospital chaplain and a community counselor. As a retired pastor, Paul continues to serve the Lord and His people, including establishing the Minnesota South District’s “Pastors to Prisoners” ministry.
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God Values Life – Abundantly
January 22, 2023
"I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly."
- John 10:10 ESV
God knew you and saw you before your mother even knew she was pregnant. Isn't that incredible? From that first moment of conception, God kept you safe and healthy. He even knew the plans for all the days ahead of you. When we think of how intricately God has made us, we rejoice with David in saying, "Wonderful are Your works!" (Psalm 139:14).
Our present American culture wants to rank life in order of "importance." But every human life is worthy of life because God creates and values life. He values the life of the tiny unborn baby, the child in foster care, and also the woman who chose abortion. He values the lives of people with disabilities and people in nursing homes who struggle to remember their own families. He even values the lives of people who seek to destroy life!
God calls us as His children to speak the truth in love to others. He calls us to tell them that their life and all human life is precious in the sight of their Redeemer who gave up His life to save them, forgive them, and give them abundant life.
Paul Emmel
Sanctity of Human Life Day
January 22, 2023
This article is adapted from Portals of Prayer, January 22, 2023, by Emily Hatesohl.
Paul Emmel is a retired pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, having served as a parish pastor, a correctional chaplain for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and a hospital chaplain and a community counselor. As a retired pastor, Paul continues to serve the Lord and His people, including establishing the Minnesota South District’s “Pastors to Prisoners” ministry.
Lord of the Stump
November 15, 2022
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In less than a minute, a chainsaw makes an ugly stump out of a beautiful 100 year old cedar tree. The sharp teeth of the saw rip through the tough trunk like a hot knife through butter. The tree is fatally amputated. Next year it will be firewood. Death wins again.
So it seems. Yet, wherever I walk in the forest, I see evidence of new life coming out of deadwood. Without human intervention, sprouts and saplings break forth from rotting wood and become the next generation of forest growth. It's Nature's way of creating renewal and new life.
Likewise, life itself makes us vulnerable to sudden cuts and losses that within minutes alter the trajectory of our future. For example - a fatal accident, a crippling diagnosis, being victimized by crime, a raging fire, a stroke, an unstoppable virus - tear into the fabric of our lives and we are helplessly left with nothing but an ugly stump. Being "stumped" in this fallen world happens all the time.
Faced with barren stumps, however, we dare not despair. We must trust the promises of The Lord of Life to generate new life out of the deadwood of our past. Rather than giving in to hopelessness or bitterness, we trust that God is " Lord of the Stump."
Jesus appeared to be stumped on the cross. He suffered cruel lashing and sharp spikes that lacerated His flesh. He breathed his last and died. A perfectly innocent human cut down in the prime of life. It looked as if cruelty and death triumphed again.
Incredibly, He surprised everyone by rising from His tomb and the Spirit of the Lord rested on Him. From that Good Friday stump grew His new people enlivened by the Spirit. The Apostles were fruitful and gave birth to a new generation, called The Church. Motivated by the Gospel, they changed the course of history. A New People, grew out of the deadwood and failure of the past.
Isaiah prophesied in chapter 11:
"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge
and the fear of the LORD."
New life arising from dead stumps!
A birch emerges from a cedar!
Who could have imagined!
Who knows what new life
He will bring from our old stumps?
We trust Him even when our lives are suddenly amputated.
Where there is loss and death,
He brings new life.
We witness this again and again
throughout our lives.
He is truly "Lord of the Stump!"
Thus, we bless His holy name!
Paul Emmel
November 13, 2022
The Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost
This essay is dedicated to the blessed memory of Charles Rodman Partridge (1934-2022).
Paul Emmel is a retired pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, having served as a parish pastor, a correctional chaplain for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and a hospital chaplain and a community counselor. As a retired pastor, Paul continues to serve the Lord and His people, including establishing the Minnesota South District’s “Pastors to Prisoners” ministry.
For Everything There Is A Season
October 19, 2022
The seasons come and the seasons go.
Everything happens at the time
God has appointed.
All created things have a certain time
to begin and to end.
The wise grasp the rhythms of life
and live in agreement with them.
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
"Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever You had formed the earth...
from everlasting to everlasting
You are God."
Paul Emmel
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 16, 2022
Images were recorded in October 2022 at the Encampment Forest Association located on the North Shore of Lake Superior, west of Two Harbors, Minnesota.. Verse was inspired by Ecclesiastes 3, Psalm 90 and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (d. 390).
Paul Emmel is a retired pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, having served as a parish pastor, a correctional chaplain for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and a hospital chaplain and a community counselor. As a retired pastor, Paul continues to serve the Lord and His people, including establishing the Minnesota South District’s “Pastors to Prisoners” ministry.