Time with Jesus - Monday, 23
January 2012
Today’s
Scriptures focus on Jesus Christ and the cross.
From
a Christian perspective, the cross is the most important symbol we will ever
know. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ is the central point in all of
time and space. It is as though creation itself hinges around this event.
Nothing is more important anywhere or at any time in history. God knew all
about it before the foundation of this world was laid. This method of execution
coincided with the time Jesus came to dwell among us. It’s almost as though all
history leads up to and away from the crucifixion. Thank God it does! I can
think of no other method of execution more fitting for sinful men like you and
me. The pain and degradation of hanging stark naked somewhere between heaven
and earth nailed to a cross seems about right for a monster of iniquity. It’s
appropriate for those of us who have been openly and deliberately defiant of
God’s love.
Symbolically,
the cross can be seen to represent the cancellation of the letter “I”. It can
be seen as stretching from heaven to earth and inclusive of all who have lived,
are living and will live on this planet. It is a symbol of death. We have so
distorted the crucifixion, that men and women wear the symbol on a chain round
their necks as jewellery!
Of
course the cross has been under attack by Satan and his gang since Jesus was
crucified. They know it is a powerful symbol. So they deliberately seek to
devalue it by trying to turn it into a toy. In the main, they have succeeded.
But
not only has the cross been “devalued”. Satan’s attack has focused on the
crucifixion as a whole. They have done their best to “demystify” it. They have
persuaded millions of men and women that the cross is not important. Christ’s
injunction to “take up your cross and follow me” has been spiritualised to the
point where it has become meaningless. Instead of making unconditional demands
on the lives of Christians, it has been changed into a sort of optional extra.
Repentance is no longer necessary. All we have to do is receive Jesus. His
grace will cover anything and everything we do/did from the moment we are saved.
It will carry us all the way into the portals of heaven itself. Sadly,
Christians have swallowed this hook line and sinker. The result is that many
live a more debauched lifestyle than the one they lived before coming to Jesus.
“God knows and understands!” is the cry from deluded millions. His grace will
cover it all! Sadly, it won’t! That’s “Cheap Grace” and there is no such thing!
To
take up your cross in Jesus day was to pick up your means of execution. You
were on a one way path to an agonising and public death. You could not reason
with the cross. It would do its work on you as it had done on countless thousands.
When it was finished, you would be dead.
Taking
up your cross today still means the same as it did in Jesus’ day. We cannot
cover it with velvet padding. We cannot protect ourselves from public shame and
nakedness. We can only submit to all its associated terrors and wait for the
instance when we too, like our Lord and Saviour can say, “It is finished. Into
Your hands I commit my spirit! This is the purpose of the cross. God help me! I’m
scared of how I will react when the inevitable happens and my time has come to
be nailed on mine. But if they could do it to my Saviour and Lord, can I expect
any less? What do you think?
Today’s
meditation looks at this in a little more detail.
Blessings
Jim & Phyllida Strickland.
The Cross of Christ
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A tragic thing has happened in
the past one hundred years.
The cross of Christ’s been
modified to satisfy our peers.
It’s now been velvet covered, so
people don’t get hurt.
They tell me it’s been
sanitised, to take away the dirt.
The blood has been excluded; it
has been washed away.
We mustn’t bother people who
feel squeamish every day!
It’s not a thing to carry. So
put it on a truck.
Put one on a necklace, so it
can bring you luck!
Never talk about it; it just
might give offence,
To the religious people who are
sitting on the fence.
It’s only fundamentalists who
really care at all.
So do not let it bother you. Their
thinking’s far too small.
You see, we know much better.
The Lord is now our friend!
And we have got a ticket on
which we can depend.
We got it many years ago, by visiting
a tent.
The preacher said please take
it. There’s no need to repent.
And while you have this ticket,
you can enter heaven’s doors.
The cross you’ll have to carry
is from lollipops and straws.
Now as I look around me, I see
this everywhere.
The church is entertainment! It
now is free from care.
Jesus came to sanctify, what
used to be obscene.
Just believe He’s saved you,
and He will wash you clean.
But there’s a major problem,
when we think along these lines.
It’s really not the gospel
which Jesus Christ defines.
In His day, taking up the cross,
meant certain crucifixion.
You would know for certain and
without contradiction;
That you were on a journey to
an agonising end.
There wasn’t an alternative; on
that you could depend.
You knew your life was over and
you would soon be dead.
No matter what the people all
around you thought or said.
There was no opportunity to bid
your friends goodbye.
Unless they wished to walk with
you and watch you as you died.
The cross made no allowances.
There wasn’t an appeal,
That you could make with anyone
and shortly it would deal,
With you in your entirety. It
wouldn’t shrink or bend.
But hold you there in agony
till life came to an end.
This is the cross Christ spoke
of. So let us all obey.
Take up our cross and follow
Him. There is no other way.
Jim Strickland – Written Monday 23rd January 2012
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