Today is Good Friday 2020 in the midst of the COVID 19 lockdown. I am sitting alone on my back porch being thankful for God’s many mercies in the midst of this Pandemic; such as the simple gift of enjoying the ability to breathe fresh air and see my blooming red anthuriums. When contemplating the many blessings on this significant day, it would be shameful if I did not consider the great gift of Jesus’ death on the cross. For God to humble himself and serve the world by submitting to the shame of dying on a cross so that there could be the joy of redemption and salvation for whosoever would believe.
THE CROSS OF A BROKEN HEART
It was many years ago when I woke one morning to an inner voice in my spirit, “Jesus did His greatest work on the cross, and so will you. Do not despise it, but delight in it.” This came at a time when I was battling the devastating emotions of a broken heart and coming to grips with a marriage that was ravaged in so many ways. I however was fully committed to my marriage as I knew it was pleasing to God for me to remain faithful to loving my husband no matter what was presented to me. God was teaching me about unconditional love, but that’s another story for another day.
My life at that time, had become nothing like I had ever envisioned or hoped that it would be. If it were not for the grace of God, which used the fact that my 4 children needed a stable home, I may have given up. I pressed ahead, forgiving daily each offense as they arose, cried to God for help and experienced the comfort of the Holy Spirit. On that day, many years ago, God brought my attention to the power of the cross; the cross of Jesus Christ and my own.
WORK ON THE CROSS
Isaiah 53:3-5 tells us that Jesus was a man of many sorrows who knew grief, he was despised. While going through all the hardship of the experience of his crucifixion, he accomplished some wonderful things for us, His Church. Jesus bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; he was chastised for us to have peace with the Father. It was his wounds that freed us from slavery to sin and healed our relationship with God so that we can now be made His children.
Jesus was tempted at all points but without ever sinning (Hebrews 4:15); He was innocent. He was our perfect sacrifice for our sin. In the old testament the priest would pray and put the sins of the people on a scape goat and drive the goat out of the city, Jesus was our scape goat and all the sins of the world was placed upon him. He who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21).
OUR CROSS
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23
Jesus spoke very emphatically about our cross; we would have one, we would have to take it up daily and the cross was a prerequisite to following Him. The cross would be the place where we would experience death. The Apostle Paul said that he died daily (1 Cor 15:31) and we are also commanded to put to death what is earthly in us (Col 3:5). Our cross is the gift that helps us die to the selfishness and sin.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:24
Jesus also told us in Luke 9:24 that we must not be protective of this life; which I consider to be the life of the flesh with all its worldly aspirations. If we try to save any tradition or opinion that is contrary to Christ, then we shall lose the life that Christ gives; eternal life. Our willingness to let go of what is temporal will gain for us that which is eternal.
WHAT OUR CROSS LOOKS LIKE
The cross signifies a place of suffering and dying; it also represents the element of shame. To submit to our cross will present us with living through humiliation, rejection and shame. The past suffering of my life seems now, in retrospect, only very mild inconveniences in comparison to what I have learned of Christ. But I can attest that at the time when I was experiencing them, they knocked the breath out of me and took me to my knees. While we are going through hardship it is indeed grievous, but afterward if we endure, it works peaceable fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:11). This may be like when a woman experiences the excruciating pains of active labor while delivering her baby, but then afterwards that same pain loses its impact or significance once the mother gets to see her newborn child.
We do not get to choose our cross, but it will effectively serve us if we submit to it because it will bring us more into conformity to the image of Christ. Let us consider the words of Paul from the Amplified bible.
10 ….., so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]; Philippians 3:10 AMP
OUR CROSS – A LIGHT TO OTHERS
Our cross will also serve those who get to observe our lives as they will see Christ magnified in us, whether by living or dying. A guilty thief on his cross next to Jesus looked at the suffering Christ and had his eyes opened; that day he went into paradise (Luke 23:43). This thief did not believe by seeing wonderful healing miracles, which is of great value and I pray for more, but he was saved by witnessing how Jesus endured his cross.
There are people in our lives that are depending on us to be faithful as we endure our cross. Let us allow Christ to be magnified in us as we forgive those who inflict painful ‘nails’ into our hands and feet. It is difficult to hide a light and the smallest spark can have a great impact on a dark room. We are the light of the world and we certainly are the light of our unsaved loved ones.
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
One way that has helped me embrace my cross was to compare it with Jesus’ bearing the sins of others on His cross. Jesus’ cross was not his own sin, for he was innocent and perfect; his cross was the sins of the world. So likewise, I considered that my cross was not about my sin; because Jesus already bore that, but now as I follow Him, I would be presented with bearing under the negative impact of someone else’s sin. This has helped me over the years to endure and forgive the offenses of emotional abuse, betrayal, inconsideration, neglect and persecution, to name a few.
My sins were borne by Jesus, but now as I follow him, I experience the sins of others who I am commanded to love. Sometimes the greatest sins we have to bear are from our own households. By the power of the Holy Spirit, grace is given to us that enables us to turn the other cheek and respond with love; all for the glory of Him who bore our sins upon a tree.
The way of the cross for us can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit once we recognize that our lives are not our own; we have been purchased by the shed blood of Jesus on His cross. Now we are called to be those who will not impute or charge the sins of others, but be reconcilers to the Father. It is really Christ in us that desires to perform this wonderful rescue operation of His elect from the four corners of the earth; even from our families and neighborhoods.
PRAYER
Thank you, Lord Jesus for the great love which you showed us by suffering and dying to redeem us from wrath. Thank you also for being our example and for your Holy Spirit which enables us to follow after you. Forgive us for ever having complained about our cross, help us to delight in our cross knowing that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory which you shall revealed to us (Rom 8:18). Help us to hate sin and love righteousness, remove from us all selfishness and grant us the grace to follow you daily as we willingly take up our cross. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
Faith
Such powerful, freeing Truth…”Jesus’ cross was not his own sin, for he was innocent and perfect; his cross was the sins of the world. So likewise, I considered that my cross was not about my sin; because Jesus already bore that, but now as I follow Him, I would be presented with bearing under the negative impact of someone else’s sin.”