The Cry of the Cross

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14

To some, a cross might seem an odd symbol for a religious faith. It does, after all, carry the same meaning as an electric chair or a hangman’s noose - death. Yet is it precisely this gruesome form of Roman torture that stands at the heart of Christianity. An emblem such as the sign of the fish is a legitimate New Testament expression, but the cross of Jesus Christ is the authentic badge of Christianity.

You see, God so loved you that Christ died for you. There was no way around it. Sin, that state and condition into which all men are born, had carved an abyss between God and man that nothing but the cross could traverse. The message of the cross is love, God’s immeasurable, amazing love for man. It was the holy love of God that sent His Son to earth in human form and placed Him on two pieces of timber. When you think upon the cross and its painful accouterments - nails, thorns, whips, and ridicule - think of the overwhelming love of God.

God loves you. He died for you. He was raised for you. He saves all who trust Him for forgiveness of sin. He reserves eternity in your name. That is the love of God and the consummate cry of the cross.