I haven’t been able to get my thoughts very far since my last post. It seems everywhere I turn there are reminders that the church in America today has forgotten the cross of Christ, and turned instead to a gospel of self-help and personal motivation. I ran across this quote last night while reading “The Cross of Christ” by John R. W. Stott:
“There is then, it is safe to say, no Christianity without the cross. If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus.” (p. 71)
The entire Scripture points toward the cross, the apex of all history. The OT pointed to it, and we in the NT live in it’s shadow cast down through the last 2000 years. Jesus lived His life on earth with the one singular goal of going to the cross on our behalf. For any of us to shy away from the message of the cross is to leave behind Jesus, I believe.
And, in line with that thought: let us not forget that we, as believers, are called to take up our own cross and follow Jesus. (See Matthew 16:24) Our cross is for one purpose: for us to die upon. It’s our daily call to die to ourselves and live for others, just as our Lord. It’s a daily reminder that it’s not all about us; it’s about Him.
The Wading Pool 