A Few Thoughts For Your Day

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Date: Apr 27 2016 11:53 AM

Hey Everybody,

I hope things are going your way. Here are a few thoughts for the day.

Jesus and the Cross

Salvation of the lost, on a worldwide basis, centers on Jesus and the cross. His sacrifice has drawn men closer to God for nearly 2000 years. Before Christ was crucified He was treated shamefully. The Savior was scourged by His enemies. Stripped and mocked by the soldiers. The opponents spit upon Him, and then they led Him away to crucify Him. Matthew wrote, concerning the crucifixion, “And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments among them, casting lots … and they sat and watched Him there” (Matthew 27:35-36). After hours of suffering, Jesus died at Golgotha.

The Cross – A Symbol

The cross symbolizes the great truths of Christianity. First of all, this symbol suggests the depths of sin. The marks of sin may be seen in broken homes, class hatred, and in men’s disregard for the rights of each other, but the crucifixion is the supreme effort of God to picture sin to man in its true light.

Sin was responsible for the death of the Son of God. The Late H. Leo Boles once preached a sermon on the subject “Sin That Crucified Jesus.” He began with the sin of ignorance, and then listed the sins of hatred, envy, prejudice, lying, love of money, and moral weakness. In commenting on the sin of moral weakness, Boles said, “Pilate was too weak to do what he knew he should do. He could have acted firmly, but he sacrificed his principles of honor and acted as a moral coward.”

The Breadth of Mercy

The Cross of Christ is a sign of God’s bountiful mercy. The power of the blood Jesus shed on the cross is available to all. Justice demands that evil be punished, but through Christ’s death, God extends mercy to men in sin. Instead of the sinner receiving punishment, he can receive forgiveness.

The following story was handed down from the Medes and Persians. The laws of the Medes and Persians were unalterable and their penalties inescapable. An eye was demanded for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. A young man had put out the eyes of one of his fellows, and the law demanded that, as punishment for his crime, the young man must have his own eyes plucked out.

The criminal was brought before the judge for trial. In this case, the judge happened to be the culprit's own father. The contradicting cries of justice and mercy rang in the father's ears. He loved his son, but he also respected the law. The guilty must be punished, but love must find mercy's way.

After much reflection, the judge said to his son, "As your judge, I must assess the penalty of the law, which demands that two eyes be given for the two you have destroyed. I cannot do less than meet the law's demand. But, as your father, I offer one of my eyes to help meet the requirements of justice." Paul said of this lesson of mercy, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The cross declares God's mercy and love for man.

Power of Salvation

The cross symbolizes the power of man's salvation. Paul said, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Man becomes reconciled to God through Christ on the cross.

There is the story of a divorced husband and wife who stood on either side of the bed of their dying child. With one hand, the child grasped the hand of the father; with the other hand, it held firmly to its mother. While the child was in this position, life passed from the little body, and the spirit returned to God who gave it. Drawn together by this object of mutual love, pulled closer and connected by two tiny hands, this husband and wife were reunited and a once-broken home was restored.

At Golgotha the Son of God reached into heaven with one hand and took hold of God. With the other hand, He reached to earth to touch the heart of man. The Christ of the cross seeks to reconcile man to God.

The beams upon which our Savior died were more than pieces of wood. The next time you sing "The Old Rugged Cross," consider anew God's mercy and love. John summed it up when he wrote, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Come see us sometime, we'd love to have ya.

Mitch Robison

Enon Church of Christ

1366 Enon Road

Webb, AL 36376

[email protected]

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