“For
the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
The cross is the iconic symbol of the Christian
church. Its message is one of dying and
rising up to new life. It is universally
recognized as such and either loved or despised because of it’s meaning. Some believers apparently don’t want to be
associated with it due to its’ focus on death.
A church not far from me uses such reasoning saying they want to focus on
life and not death; therefore no crosses adorn their facility. You cannot escape the cross, even if you
don’t want to display it. It’s where
Christ put into motion God’s plan for man’s salvation. Without the death of Christ on a cross there
is no forgiveness because there was no sacrifice made to cleanse sin.
The cross is important because it is
emblematic of the shame and ridicule Christ went through to save us. He became a curse in the eyes of His own
Father for our sake, for scripture declares “cursed by any man who hangs on a
tree” (Galatians 3:13). He was separated
from God for a brief time to accentuate the price paid for all of man’s
sins.
The cross is foolishness to the
unbeliever because they are not willing to face the fact that they must die to
truly live. That death is a dying to self.
It is relinquishing our own way of living in favor of God’s way. It is admitting that God is real and there is
an afterlife. It is facing our own
inadequacies and realizing that we cannot reach heaven on our own. Those who glibly say they would rather go to
hell and party with their friends are pitifully ignorant of what would await
them should they remain in their sin. People can blow off the cross as nothing
more than a crutch for the weak minded, but they will all find out one day that
that cross is the link needed to bridge the gap sin created between God and man.
If the cross is a crutch, then I will
lean very heavily on it for I know I cannot make it on my own. How about you? What does the cross mean to you? Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
