The Message of the Cross
Author: Regina Reeves (Pennsylvania, USA)
I love crosses. I wear one on a necklace around my neck at all times.
I have many crosses in my home that I have brought back from mission trips and travels to other countries. They remind me of where I’ve been and the people who made them.
But beyond that, I wonder what message we are sending when we wear a cross or display one in our home.
As a Roman instrument of capital punishment, a cross was where Jesus and many others died. But Jesus was removed from a cross and rose from death in the resurrection.
For Christians, the cross is not the end of the story. It’s the place where heaven and earth met in one momentous event that changed the world.
During Lent, we sing many hymns about the cross. And at Easter, we raise our alleluias to the empty cross that reminds us that Jesus is not dead but rose again.
The message of the cross is as simple and as complex as that: because Jesus lives even now, we have the hope of eternal life in heaven.
Prayer: Almighty God, our Rock and our Redeemer, we give you thanks for the mystery of the cross. Because Christ is risen, we look forward to eternal life with you. Alleluia! Amen
