The Cross: His and Ours

For many churches, the cross, like the manger, is considered a seasonal topic: one surfaces in the winter during Christmas; the other surfaces in the spring during Easter. Thereafter, both subjects are only occasionally mentioned. So, the impression easily gained from this practice is that these are elementary truths—profound, yes, but understood enough to move on to other topics.
We may have thought the forgiven sinner is done with the cross and that the cross offers no further ministry. But this is not what Paul thought! Paul spoke of the cross as “the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18), a power sufficient for two things: one, for the world to be crucified unto me and I unto the world (Galatians 6:14). And two, a power sufficient to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). The cross, therefore, not only justifies; it also sanctifies.
All the problems the outer world present and the inner life experiences will continue to gain an unwarranted advantage over us unless we receive this ongoing ministry from the cross. The way the cross does this is by providing a high-powered microscope that brings into stunning focus the very forces at work that day at Calvary, forces that are also at work in our lives today. Once we see what the cross reveals, and keep our focus precisely there, dramatic changes will occur. And the primary reason these changes will occur is because what the cross reveals enlightens us, showing us what we didn’t see before, and as a result of that motivates us, indeed empowers us to live a life we never could have lived on our own.
The trajectory of your Christian growth doesn’t have to remain flat, doesn’t have to zig and zag, doesn’t have to remain a disappointment, even to you. For under the mud and the blood of the cross is buried a rich treasure which, if understood and claimed, will elevate your life dramatically.