“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” - Apostle Paul (Gal 6:14)
God on the cross is a very devastating thought for any human being with a bit of God-consciousness. “How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” But the Apostle Paul says that if ever he had to boast about anything it would be the CROSS!
Charles Spurgeon, known as the “Prince of Preachers,” was asked, “Mr. Spurgeon, a man who has heard you preach a lot says you have just one sermon, and that you preach that sermon all the time.” Mr. Spurgeon said, “That is right. That is right. Wherever in the Bible I take my text, I make a beeline to the cross and start preaching about the Lord Jesus.”
SYMBOL OF HATRED TO SYMBOL OF LOVE: On the cross God made it clear to mankind: “I do not hate you, I love you; that’s why I chose this cross.” The cross is the pathway of God’s love to us for our salvation. Christ on the cross made all the difference - from being a sign of iniquity to a sign of dignity; from a mark of death to a mark of life and from a symbol of hatred to a symbol of love.
On the cross, God did for man what man could not do for himself. Henry Thiessen writes: “The thought is something like this. At first God and man stood face to face with each other in perfect harmony. In sinning, Adam turned his back upon God . . . Christ’s death has satisfied the demands of God and now God has again turned his face toward man. It remains for man to turn around and face God. Since God has been reconciled by the death of his Son, man is now entreated to be reconciled to God.”
Someone said “The symbol of love is not the heart, but the cross. For the heart stops beating, but the man on the cross never stops loving”.
SYMBOL OF SHAME TO SYMBOL OF SALVATION: One of the best known early Christian symbols is the fish, not a cross. The cross was not something someone was proud of but it was a symbol of shame. The cross was the emblem of a slave’s death and a murderer’s punishment. Everett Ferguson, professor of church history, says, “Christians did not make explicit pictures of the crucifixion for about 400 years after Christ’s death.” But Christ on the cross made the symbol of shame into a symbol of salvation. The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)
SYMBOL OF PAIN TO SYMBOL OF VICTORY: Today many of us proudly wear the cross and some Christian leaders even say, “Christians should proudly display the symbols of faith.” This symbol of redemption represents suffering, substitution, and satisfaction, which are covered once and for all. Christians along with the Apostle Paul can say “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Christ came to the earth to seek and to save those who were lost. Through his oblation (offering himself), ie. the entire humiliation of his life and death, he has secured perfectly the redemption of those for whom he died. Christians no longer have to look at the cross with pain and agony. Rather we can boldly say, “We have good news on the bloody cross, we have redemption on the cross, we have victory on the cross.” Death lost its sting on the cross.
SYMBOL OF EMPTINESS TO SYMBOL OF FULLNESS: The rationalist says: “Give me Christ without the cross.” The ritualist says: “Give me the cross without Christ.” The Truth of the Cross is : by itself it is empty. It symbolizes everything that is negative. But Christ on the cross makes all the difference. The cross fills the gap that sin created. The cross reconciled man to God. The cross fulfilled what justice demanded. Knowing all these the Apostle Paul says, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
A lad was lost late at night in London. A police officer heard his shivering sobs in the darkness. The boy said to the officer, “I’m lost. Please take me home.” When the officer asked where he lived the boy was so tired and so scared that he couldn’t remember...not a street name, not a well-known shop, not even a fire station. The policeman pointed to a cross on the top of a distant church building and asked, “Do you live anywhere near that place?” The little boy’s face lightened up and he said, “Yes, sir. Take me to the cross and I can find my way home.”
The little boy’s words are so true. At the foot of the cross we find hope, fulfillment and a future. This is the message to the whole world. On the cross `He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and by His stripes we are healed - because He died, we shall live!
There is hope in the Cross of Christ - for everyone, every tribe, every nation, no one is exempted - it includes you!
Rev. Dr. Jose T. Nithi
email: josetn@hotmail.com
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