The Cross

Today's entry comes from a guest author, a friend of mine named Jon Sizelove. He sent me this as an email this morning and I thought it was wonderful and needed to be shared with you all. Jon is a pastor in Northern California. Enjoy! - Joel

This morning I walked into my office and found that something horrific happened during the night.

You see, I made this large 6 foot high by 4 foot wide acrylic 50% white cross. I use it for a number of things. Since it is 50% white I use it in services and back light it with color changing lights. I also use it as a table for communion, back lit of course. I've also had people write on it during response times. It really is a cool and useful tool, and I store it in my office.

This morning I open my door and there up against the wall was a neat stack of acrylic shards!

I stood in my doorway stunned.

The last time I used the cross I had everyone come up on stage and write on it a statement or thought about how they feel about the love that they have received from God. I had not erased these yet. As I stood there I started reading all these responses.

Upon these broken shards was the heart of people who had experienced God's deep love and were simply saying thank you!

It really touched me, I was overwhelmed with emotion.

Then it hit me that it is appropriate that the cross is broken. The cross is the ubiquitous symbol of Christianity, and I personally am very fond of the imagery of the cross, heck over the years I have made a number of crosses as reverential art. As I walked around my office I started to ponder why the cross is so important to me. It seemed strange to me that I love Jesus and worship Him as the living God, yet I carry around and create images of the weapon which was used in His murder. Yet Christ is no longer dead, He is alive! So why do I focus on the cross?

In the New Testament I had known that the early church focused more on Christ's resurrection then they did on His death. I just did a little searching and it seems that in the epistles the ratio is greater then 3 to 1 that Christ's resurrection is mentioned more then His death on the cross. For the early church Christ is not the one who died, He is the one who is alive! He is the one who conquered death. He is not simply the one who paid the price for their sin through death. Christ is the one who brings them life through His resurrection.

In some ways to me the cross is looking back. The cross deals with my sin. The cross paved the way for my reconciliation with God. But now, now He is alive. Now I am reconciled with God. What Now! Who is Christ now? How do I go forward? What do I look forward too? Christ is the future! Who will Christ be? How will I address Him in the future? How should I address Him now?

I am feeling like I should address Him as King. Christ is my King! He is my God!

Maybe instead of using a cross as a symbol I should use a crown. Not a crown of thorns. I mean a real crown, one that truly is a symbol of HIs majesty and rule. A royal seal. Something that states that I am a citizen of His kingdom. Something that shows that I am under His rule. Something that shows how proud I am to be called by His name. Christian! Something that is a statement of how much I truly love Him.

Jesus Christ is the living King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen!


In the service of the Christ my King.

--rev

Just some thoughts on a beautiful Tuesday morning.