Tom Barnard

“God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

(Galatians 6:14)

What is it that makes the Cross of Jesus Christ central to Christian faith? Is it the wood of the Cross? Does it matter if the wood was pine or spruce or cedar? Not really. Does it matter who fashioned the Cross—the man who cut down the tree and shaped it into two lengths of wood that would be sturdy enough to hold the body of a man? Not really. Does it matter what the names were of the thieves who died that day, one on either side of Jesus? Not really. Does it matter who the Roman soldiers were that nailed our Savior to the tree? Not really. Does it matter if the Cross of Christ was ever used again to execute someone else? Not really. It was used once. And that was enough.

The Cross on which Jesus died is not the Subject of Calvary. The Cross is the Object of Calvary, not the subject. The Subject of Calvary is Jesus Christ. What made the Cross central was not the wood of the Cross or the designer of the Cross or the workman who cut and pieced it together or the soldiers who carried out the execution. What made the Cross central was the One who died on it. Whatever glory is attached to the Cross belongs to the One who died there that day. So, when you sing a hymn about the Cross this week, sing it in honor of the One who died to take away the sins of the world. Here is one of my favorite hymns:

In the Cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,

Never shall the cross forsake me:

Lo, it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon my way,

From the cross the radiance streaming

Adds new luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;

Peace is there that knows no measure,

Joys that through all time abide.

Heavenly Father, the Cross is on my mind today. But the object itself does not bless my heart all that much. I honor the Cross…I glory in the Cross…I look to the Cross…I bring my sins and failures to the Cross. But the reason I return to the Cross today is because the Son of God died there for me. He took my grief and burdens and lifted them from me to Himself. When He said, “Forgive them…” he said those words for me. When He said, “It is finished…” he said those words for me. So, Father, I pause at the Cross today to worship and praise Jesus, the One who died there for me. Please accept this offering of praise today. Amen.