Cross Words

Gal. 6:14

F

or many unbelievers, the cross is a puzzle. The cross is more than a symbol for the Christian, it is the substance. The cross is at the center of the moral universe. The word cross, of course, is found in the word “crucify.” The Word itself is intrinsically and forever linked to Christ himself, as Noah is forever identified with his greatest work, the Ark. The word “crossing” describes an intersection, not just of two lines, or of two roads or two ways. The Cross is the crossroad and the place where “ truth and mercy meet” (Ps. 85:10). We say that we “cross” from one side to another, and millions have, at the cross, crossed over from darkness into light. It is the Passover. The word “crucial” is another word that arose from the word “cross.” Crucial means “of supreme importance.” I cannot think of anything more important or crucial than the cross (cruces), can you? Then again, we have all wanted to get to the “crux” of a matter one time or another. The crux is the most important point, the heart of the thing. The very heart of God is on display at the cross, where Christ died for sinners.  Lastly, a “crucible” (also from the word cross), is the hollow part at the bottom of the furnace. We use this word to describe a severe test. The trial of our faith calls us to bear the cross, to sometimes suffer and willingly identify with, and follow Christ into the furnace of persecution. The result is that there we are refined and all the self-centered selves of selfishness are sacrificed (self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-confidence, self-promotion) and Faith, faith in Christ alone, comes forth from the flames like gold; and He, the Lord Jesus Christ gets all the glory.     -id

“God forbid that I should Glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Gal. 6:14