For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Crosses. It seems everywhere you look you can see one. As my wife Judy and I were driving back from the Holy Land (aka the south), part out of boredom and part out of curiosity, I would slowly scan the landscape to see what I could see. It was then that I saw them. Poked in the ground were three wooden crosses. They were weather faded and had shifted in the dirt…lazily leaning to one side and then the other. When I saw them, I sighed, heavily because of what they meant. At that spot, sometime in the not-too-distant past…three people had lost their lives.
I didn’t know if they were young or old, black, or white, rich or poor. I didn’t need to know that because all that mattered was three people in a flash of a moment slipped into eternity, most likely with little or no warning. Those crosses and so many others I saw that day and other days always meant one thing—someone had died. Suddenly they were ushered into an eternity with or without God and that with or without was and is such a heavy thought. Eternity with God would mean eternal life and eternity without Him could only mean a forever separation in a place not made for man but for his enemy—Satan.
These words, these thoughts should weigh heavily on us for eternity without God is a grievous thing—a heart breaking thing. One thing is certain—it weighs heavy on the heart of God. I know this because of what happened a couple of thousand years ago on a rugged outcrop outside of Jerusalem. There a man, a perfect man, the God man died so that no one had to be separated from God ever again. His death made it possible for anyone and everyone to receive the gift of eternal life and forgiveness. Think about that whenever you see a cross…for it means Someone died and that Someone was Jesus.
So, if you wear a gold cross or one decorated with jewels or if you have one hung somewhere in your home never, never forget what it means…Someone died. Can I encourage you to go one step further—even if you don’t know God or believe in Him? Can I encourage you to remember why people, lots of people wear a cross, or hang a cross? Well, whether they acknowledge it or not—they are making a statement about a God who loved the world so much that He sent His Son to this earth for one purpose—to die on a Roman cross. Not murdered, not martyred, He went there and died there because He loved you and me. That is simply amazing. And trust me…a God like that can handle anything including your toughest questions. He’s got that. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 