The gift of the cross

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18 NLT)

The message of the cross cannot be understood through human reasoning. If we could understand the exact things that transpired in the heavenly realms as Christ hung there, breathed his last, and then gave his all for mankind, we'd probably all be on our knees in full repentance right now. There wouldn't be one soul untouched by the intensity of that sacrifice. The human mind is not able to know fully what transpired, but through faith we can trust that what Christ accomplished was meant for our good. 

The power behind the cross isn't usually fully comprehended through what we read in our scriptures. It becomes very evident in a changed life, though. The more a life is transformed by the power of the cross, the more we come to 'know' and 'appreciate' that Christ did more than just 'die' there - he overcame evil, every power of darkness that exists, and every spiritual force that stands opposed to the One True God. He dealt a final blow to sin - giving what we could never give.

Without the cross, sin would still hold every heart captive. If we embrace the cross - the finished work of Christ on our behalf - we begin a journey away from sin. We experience an exchange of natures - taking on the nature of Christ, leaving behind the nature of sin. That may not seem very important to some, while others could not take their next step forward apart from being in right relationship with God. Those who still try to 'reason through' the 'validity' of the cross, or the need for a Savior will not embrace grace until they understand they have no way of 'finding grace' before God apart from embracing the finished work of Christ.

The message of the cross is one of intense love and ultimate sacrifice. The intended recipients of all the cross accomplished? You, me, and all who don't even know they need God's grace. While some will argue there was no need for the cross, their human reasoning being what they trust the most, those who will lay down their need to 'understand fully' the sacrifice of Christ before saying yes to him will soon come to 'know' the intensity of grace. When we abandon our need to 'understand fully' before we place our trust in God's love and his grace, we find ourselves face to face with a love like we could never experience apart from his gift of the cross. Just sayin!