THE CROSS AND US
For I determined not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
(1 Cor 2:2)
In I
Corinthians 1: 18 Paul said, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” Here we
can see that Paul cherished the cross of the Lord Jesus and often preached
about it. This does not mean that he idolized it, however. Rather, the cross he
talked about was not the cross of wood, but the crucifixion and death of
Christ. Because it was there that the Lord Jesus died for him, it meant a lot
to him. The mercy, sufferings, and great love of the Lord must have come to his
mind whenever he thought of the cross, and this so moved him to say, “Jesus loved
me and gave himself for me” (Gal ).
What, then
does the cross mean to us? Here are a few points for our mutual exhortation:
His Love and Suffering -
Our Remembrance
Whenever
we remember the death of our Lord, we cannot but think of his love and suffering.
Undeniably, Jesus went through the most painful type of death by being
crucified. But for our sake, He was willing to do this, and as Paul said in
Phil. 2:8, Jesus became “obedient to death, even death on a cross”. If we ask
ourselves, “Why has Jesus shown such great love to me, to ransom me with his
own precious blood? Who am I that he should undergo such agony on the cross, to
die for me?”, we may begin to see just how much Jesus
has loved us and done for us. We often feel grateful when a friend has done
some small kindness to us, and try to repay him as best as we can. How much
more should we feel grateful to the Lord, who has given us everything, even
himself! And how shall we repay him? The new commandment Jesus gives to us in
John is that we love
one another as He has loved us. And this love should not be shown only to those
who love us, but to all men, for the love Jesus has shown us is deep,
unconditional, and everlasting. If His love fills us and controls us, it will
motivate us to love others in the same way, and we shall all be as one in
Christ Jesus.
His Crucifixion - Our New
Creation
There is
no life without a sacrifice, as Jesus said in John 12:24: “Truly, truly, I say
to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains
alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit”. So by the death of Jesus, many
souls are saved.
The cross
brought reconciliation between God and men (Eph 2:6). He conquered death and
brought life. The precious blood He shed washes away our sins, and we become
part of Him. Called out of the bondage of sin into freedom, we are a new
creation. Romans 6:4-11 tells us that a new creation must walk in the newness
of life. By belonging to Christ we crucify our flesh with all its passions and
desires, and strive to live a new life worthy of our Lord.
His Commission—Our Duty
Since we
have been redeemed by Him, let us also bring salvation to all men; this is our
commission. Preaching the gospel is a “necessity” to the apostle Paul (I Cor -17). This should also be our
attitude towards preaching, for Jesus has told us: “Go into all
the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation”. When others
receive the glad tidings, they too will rejoice with us.
Our
“cross” that the Lord speaks of in Matthew 10:38 signifies
our responsibilities and commission. It also implies our share of sufferings
and toils. Thus, carrying the cross may be difficult and painful at times. But
as this is our responsibility, let us not be discouraged in the face of
hardships since we serve God, whose grace is sufficient for our use.
At the
thought of the cross, we remember His love and sufferings for us. Let us do the
same for Him. The cross reminds us that we are a new creation. Let us be
transformed by His Word. We remember our commission. Let us carry our cross to
the very end.
