The church (part four)

He brought peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:20).

No feature of a Christian church is more iconic than the cross.  You will see a cross on the outside of the building, sometimes high up on a steeple.  You will see a cross on the altar or the front wall of the worship space.  You will see a cross on baptismal fonts, communion ware and banners.  Many clergy leading worship wear a cross as a pendant.

It’s amazing what Christ did.  The Son of God rehabilitated the cross, making something that was ugly and disgusting into something new which is utterly beautiful.  The cross had been a method of execution reserved for the worst scum of the earth.  It was designed to provide a slow, excruciating way to die, a terribly shameful way to meet your end.  But when Jesus died on the cross, He turned that awful construction of wood into a blessing for all humanity.  On the cross, our sin was put to death in Jesus’ body.  Because He suffered the punishment we deserve for angering God, we can look at a cross and see God’s love for us.

The cross represents love.  On the cross, Jesus demonstrated what love is capable of, what true love is willing to do.  Love will do whatever is necessary to provide another person with happiness, security and peace.  Because of sin, we were under God’s curse of death and hell; the Son of God suffered unimaginably to make things different for us.  Because of Jesus, the cross now represents love in its purest form.

The cross also represents forgiveness. Relationships fail because of sin.  Our selfishness, our thoughtlessness, our willingness to be cruel is always hurting others and pushing them away.  Without forgiveness, healthy and lasting relationships are just not possible—not with God, and not with each other.  But on the cross, Jesus suffered and died so your life can be blessed with forgiveness.  In Christ, you are reconciled to God and welcomed as a member of His precious family.  With the Savior’s help, you can forgive those who’ve hurt you and rebuild any damaged relationship with a new-found love. 

This is why the cross features so prominently in every Christian church.  On the cross, love overpowered sin.  On the cross, broken relationships were revitalized through forgiveness.  Thanks to Christ, the image of the cross has been rehabilitated into something lovely—our Lord offers that same rehabilitation to you.