City Life Starter

By Stefan Johnsson

What Does the Cross Mean for Me?

I can tell you first and foremost that the cross is more than a symbol. Though, many in our society view it as only this. People tattoo crosses on their body, wear crosses around their necks, and pray to crosses of various sizes and shapes. Is this what we should be doing? Does one truly understand the significance of the cross? We serve a Savior who not only died, but also rose from the grave and ascended into heaven to claim his rightful place(Daniel 7:13-14). We should be looking up to heaven and not to a cross. This does not mean that the significance of the cross should lose its importance.

When it comes to the cross, I scene from the movie, “Kingdom of Heaven” comes to my mind(as seen in the link below). The Muslim general is asked a simple question, what is Jerusalem to you? He replies by saying, “nothing”, then turns back around and says, “everything”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6aPgA5549g

This is how I view the cross. It means everything. Let me tell you why in a very few words.

My sin against God meant eternity without Him. I needed an atonement, a blood sacrifice to pay for this. It would be my very life. Yet, God, being full of grace and mercy, took my place instead. I owe him…everything. My very life, my debt was paid in full that day.

My sin and shame died on that cross with Jesus. Without this sacrifice, without His death on the cross, I would be lost. An enemy of God, living only to serve myself.

Colossians 1:21-22 reads as follows:

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

How amazing is our God! We have become without blemish, without any accusation for the sin we have done because of the blood of Christ. Every drop of blood that fell from Jesus Christ’s body onto the rocks at Golgotha shook the Earth as the rocks cried out. Every drop of blood contained the pain and hurt that we all have faced in our lives, the evil and corruption of goodness. Every drop of blood was the tears from the Father as He had to turn away from the Son who took on the sins of the world.

And when the Father turned back around, He no longer saw a world with people solely devoted to destruction. He saw holy people, people who, like you and I, were no longer tainted by sin, but seen as pure. The drops of blood cleansed us who believed in Jesus. We became like “little Christs”, changing the course of history and the world by sharing the good news.

The cross that Jesus died on should bring us to somberness. Never can we forget that we deserved this. Never can we forget the significance and that we needed saving, an atonement for our sin. It took the very life of the Son to bring us freedom. Let us not live as if it means nothing. Let us live like it means everything.