What is The Cross?

The Cross. Believer or non-believer, particularly here in the West, you’ve seen the Cross. Around necks, rear view mirrors, doorknobs. In windows. On walls. Tattooed on backs, arms, shoulders, legs, and chests. People see the Cross and know the message, whether they accept it or not. They know the story behind The Cross and what it essentially means to mankind. They know the name of the man who hung on that historical Cross. They know His character, His love, His sacrifice. Unfortunately, knowing all that, people still reject this message. But in reality, do we completely understand the message of the Cross? We understands its implication and the atonement of sins that comes with it, but do we really understand what it means in comparison to our own hearts and our own character?

What is The Cross?

To me, the Cross signifies everything that we are not. It stands for the very essence in which our being naturally rejects. The character of the Cross is too much for most skeptics to get a grip on because it is a standard that they know they cannot meet.

Christian Apologist Ravi Zacharias gives his thoughts on what the Cross is in comparison to our human nature:

“The cross stands as a mystery because it is foreign to everything we exalt – self over principle, power over meekness, the quick fix over the long haul, cover-up over confession, escapism over confrontation, comfort over sacrifice, feeling over commitment, legality over justice, the body over the spirit, anger over forgiveness, man over God.”

Everything that we are, The Cross Isn’t. Would we have done that? Would any of us have laid down our lives for the faults of an entire world? I do not think so. I have seen too many people tattle tale their way out of situations just to save their own skin, what makes you think they’d give their lives only so that others can live? But where does this start? Why did the Cross even happen? Aside from the issue of sin, what character causes such an event to take place?

What is The Cross?

At the Cross, we see the very character of God reflected through His Son. A character of love, sacrifice, humility, selflessness, meekness, grace, mercy, etc. The redemptive character of God is poured out into time through the man Jesus Christ to show us what the meaning of true love really is. God Himself, taking on our flesh and blood to show us how to do it right that we’ve been doing wrong the entire time. To get a better idea of what this means, take this time to picture a group of slugs. These slugs are throwing salt all over each other, messing around with each other and not acting the right way that slugs should. Picture yourself as the True God of these slugs just as you are as a human being. You are much bigger than them, much more powerful, your voice is booming and authoritative but they still are not getting it. How do you show them how to act? The best way is probably to become like a slug and show them how to do things right so they won’t throw salt on each other anymore. Isn’t this what Christ did when He came into this world as natural as the rest of us? Taking on our character but in being God, showing every one how we should truly treat each other, ourselves, and God. Jesus did this in His ministry and showed it in full to His obedience to death on a Cross. The power of the Cross and the ramifications it has on the human nature is to plainly show us that it truly is the very opposite of all that we are. The power of the Cross shows that God not only understood the issue with pain and suffering, but was Himself active in it as He allowed the sources of evil to channel unrighteous acts to create the gateway to righteousness. I’d like to close with this amazing quote by James Stewart who truly understood what the Cross and its power really meant:

“It is a glorious phrase—“He led captivity captive.” The very triumph of His foes, it means, He used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subverse His ends, not theirs. They nailed Him to the tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne. They flung Him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out His doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy. They thought they had God with His back to the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.”

I hope this gave you a new perspective on what the cross really is and what it means for us individually (and also communally.) Although there is so much more to be said, there is a great message in the cross and the power it can have on one’s life. It is so foreign not only to our human nature but to different religions. It is unique and captivating. Wholesome and original. It is God’s love story. Still you might ask despite all this, why should I believe in the Cross? Because Calvary is the only place that offers you mercy, grace, and forgiveness in which you neither deserve nor can earn but for the simple fact that Christ loves you, just as you are.

I know a place, a wonderful place
Where accused and condemned
Find mercy and grace
Where the wrongs we have done
And the wrongs done to us
Were nailed there with him
There on the cross

At the cross,
He died for our sin
At the cross,
He gave us life again