The entire New Testament is about how we share in the redemptive nature of Jesus. St. Paul speaks of how they reconcile us to God. Jesus tells the disciples to go out into the world spreading the good news and baptizing others. St. Paul declares that we must finish Jesus’ work, begun with His Incarnation.
While it is certainly true that without Jesus, none of it is possible. While it is certainly true that God at any time could just open the heavens and reveal Himself to all ensuring that every knee will bend to Him, that is not how God chose to redeem us. He has asked us to share in Jesus’ mission. Every time we love someone though we would rather not, every time we help someone, though we don’t really have the means, every time we forgive someone who has deeply injured us, every time we give Him praise and Glory, every time we reach out to Him in prayer, we are sharing in the redemptive work of Jesus.
You have an amazingly naive theology of redemption!
Excellent post! That goes for your #155 too.
To “receive a gift” I must accept it. This is the most basic rational logical meaning of the phrase “receive a gift”. To “accept” it. This naturally implies cooperation on one’s part; for if one does not cooperate in the exchange of the gift from the Giver to the recipient, then the gift cannot be “received”. Without cooperation, the gift is rejected.
This follows from reason. If one gives their child a pair of socks for Christmas, and the kid throws them over his shoulder, that means the kid rejects the socks. One could “force” the socks on the kid, but once left alone, the kid would be free *then* to either continue wearing them or take them off. The kid must, at some point, *accept* the gift of the socks for them to be worn. The kid must cooperate with the giving of the gift, or else they will just remain in the drawer (or in the trash).