At The Cross

In the church and in our faith, the surest way to deal with our problems, difficulties, and pain is to go to the Cross. Most people are not in church because they are afraid of the consequences of the meltdown when they stand before the Cross. The meltdown refers to God’s requirement that we stand before the Cross, that we see Jesus hanging there, and that we surrender all that we are to Him. When we are able to surrender all that we are to Him, our problems, difficulties, and pains begin to melt away, and anxiety begins to fade. All these dark difficulties begin to melt away because we have placed ourselves in Jesus nail-scarred hands. We must go to the Cross to deal with our problems, whatever they may be. We must go to the Cross in real time, in real ways, just as if we were standing there on the day He died. We must stand before the Cross because the Cross is totally transforming. Going to the Cross is also devastating to our sinful self that wants what we want when we want it delivered by a Jesus who acts as a servant catering to our every want and need. Standing at the foot of the cross takes away our desire to be fed the candy verses of the faith and gives us the ability to chew and digest the meat of scripture. Standing at the foot of the cross takes away our desire to always want what we want when we want it. Standing at the foot of the cross begins a healing process in our spirit and sometimes in our bodies because standing at the foot of the cross melts us down. Standing before our Savior in his suffering and pain makes our petty problems so small that they disappear. At the cross, we are not concerned about ourselves because our sinful selves have died. At the cross, we are not concerned about our careers, our material things, and what we think we want and need. When we stand at the foot of the cross, look up, and see Him suffering and dying there…we cannot stand for very long. When we stand at the foot of His suffering and pain, we end up on our knees asking His forgiveness for wanting what we want. When we are on our knees in front of His suffering, we truly do have a chance to give our all to Him. Is not it ironic that even on the Cross-He heals us of our selfishness, our pride, and our ego sicknesses. The cross is not some kind of abstract idea. It is not some historical event to only be written about in a history book. The cross is a real place every person needs to visit. After we go there we can truly know and understand how Jesus is our loving Master. We can truly know how much He loves us and cares about us. Our difficulties begin to melt away when He touches us. The cross, however, is not a place where people really want to go. People do not want to go there because they know that at the foot of the cross they will have to confront themselves. They will have to admit they are not worthy in the eyes of God. They will have to admit to sin and a sinful life. Unfortunately, they will miss the greatest love they or the world has ever known. They will miss the support and encouragement to walk through every fear. At the foot of the cross, there is no whining and complaining about our respective lives. There is no whining and complaining because our selfish side does not exist any more. Our selfish side is made clean in Jesus blood that was shed for us. When our old self dies there is a new self that is born. In the faith, we call it being reborn. I call upon you to go to the Cross now, today, every day because no daily walk with God is complete without stopping by and kneeling where our Savior died.