The importance of the cross (1)
08 APRIL 2020
‘May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Galatians 6:14
In the Bible, Jesus doesn’t ask us to remember His birth or His resurrection, although we should remember these things, but He does tell us to remember His death. When He shared the Last Supper with the disciples, He said, ‘do this in remembrance of me’ (Luke 22:19 NIV). We can’t remember Jesus’ death without focusing on the cross. Paul said, ‘May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ The cross can seem like a strange thing to remember and boast about. Jesus’ suffering on the cross isn’t something we might want to spend time thinking about. So why is it important? Firstly, it reminds us of our salvation. When Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ (John 19:30), all our sins were paid for. Because of His death, we can be forgiven and can look forward to eternal life. Sometimes we can be tempted to think that our salvation depends on the things that we’ve done. But the cross reminds us that we can’t earn our salvation. We will never be good enough, but Jesus has paid the price so that we can be acceptable to God. Our salvation is a gift, rather than something we have to earn. The Bible says: ‘You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God’ (Ephesians 2:8 NCV). God sent His Son to die for each one of us because of how much He loves us. Even if you were the only person on earth, He would still have done it. We should never boast to others about our good works or how much God must be pleased with us, we should always point people to the cross and the incredible sacrifice that was made for us all. What Now? Find a picture of a cross. As you look at it, remind yourself: ‘He did it for me.’