Separated But Not Separated

Sin is separation from God, yet we are not separated from God. God embraces that which cannot be embraced. This paradox is solved in and through Christ Jesus. This is the central message of Kazoh Kitamori's THE THEOLOGY OF THE PAIN OF GOD, which is one of my all-time favorite theology books. Kazoh sees the pain of God on the Cross as the mystical experience that both embodies and overcomes the paradox of God embracing the sinner. We will never be any closer to God than we are now. God lives in and through us as the Holy Spirit. Yet, He does this only because of the cross. The gulf is overcome by the arms of the hanging Jesus.