Purpose in our Suffering – Part 4

The death of Christ is the foundation of our hope. It is the cornerstone that causes unbelievers to stumble and provides believers in Christ with a firm standing. The Apostle Paul calls the preaching of the cross “foolishness” to the ones who are perishing but, “to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

Funny that God would take the most despicable instrument known throughout history… an instrument of torture, designed to produce not only maximum human pain but also maximum shame… to accomplish His greatest act of love. While we do not “love the cross” in the sense that Jesus suffered and died there, it is the pinnacle of obedience of the Son to the Father. It is the zenith of wondrous love. It is the place where sinners find refuge and forgiveness, beneath it’s shadow.

God turns the “worthless” things, things the world despises, into that which is most worthwhile at the cross. The cross is indispensable for salvation to be accomplished. It is essential for the sinner to find hope. It is crucial as the centerpiece of our relationship with God. We cannot relate to Him without it.

Without the cross, there can be no reconciliation between God and man.

Without the cross, there can be no justification from God to man.

Without the cross, there can be no satisfaction of sin’s debt that we owe.

Without the cross, Christianity has no meaning… it has no teeth… it has no reason for being.

But in the cross of Christ, there is peace between God and man. There is justification by faith, as Christ’s righteousness is given to us. There is a satisfaction of sin’s debt as the wrath of God can subside. There is a reality to Christianity that goes beyond any other religious system. None can compare. No other can compete. No other can suffice.

“In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time…” the hymn writer has said. And it is in the cross alone that we can glory. It is the power of God for salvation to those who believe.

And it is alone our hope.


“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ….” Romans 6:11

FOR REFLECTION: How does the cross make a difference in your life today?

 

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