A monthly devotion of Global Training Network

THE WONDERS OF THE CROSS

The world sees the horrors of the Cross; the Christian sees the wonders of the Cross. Jesus was born to die; it would be an ugly, tormented death. Yet, it was a necessary death, a death ordered by His Father. In the annals of eternity, the Godhead had decreed that man could be saved, but someone or something would have to be a substitute for him. Jesus became our substitute—it was He not us that died on the Cross.

But why? Christianity has long been called a bloody religion, and so it is. God has always demanded a sacrifice for sin. In the Old Covenant that covered Israel, sacrifices for sin were imperative and practiced. What was done then was but a forerunner of what was to come. What could not be done through the Old Covenant is done through the New Covenant. Instead of bulls and goats as sacrificial offerings for sin that do no good, God’s Son, Jesus, became the sacrificial lamb for all mankind.

The Cross, instead of a degrading symbol of death, came to stand for all that Jesus said and is. The Cross and Jesus are inseparable, and without the Cross, Christianity is simply a mockery. Jesus indeed paid it all—all at Calvary!

In other words, it is possible for the Christian to live a moment-by-moment, step-by-step, victorious walk with Christ through faith. The penalty of sin has been removed, the power of sin has been conquered, and there will be a day when we will be free from the presence of sin. What this means is that the Christian’s life does not have to be an emotional roller coaster, going from peak to valley and valley to peak. Indeed, there is no sin in one’s life, no matter how great or how trivial, that cannot be dealt with through the Cross.

We celebrate Easter as one of the two most important days of Christendom, the other being the birth of Christ. In Christmas, we see the adorable Christ Child, who holds the hopes and dreams of all the world. In the Cross, we see nothing adorable, only a degraded, tormented, and tortured Savior. This picture is so repugnant to the world that it has substituted a rabbit for the Christ. Incredible!

All that Jesus said and did during His short life-span climaxed at the Cross. Would He stay in the grave as Satan desired, or would He take His rightful position at the right hand of the Father, taking our sins and depravity with Him? It wasn’t a bunny that did this. It was a Person—Jesus Christ our Lord.

On this day of days, let us quietly and reverently meditate on what it cost our Lord to provide for us a free and unconditional salvation.