“I assure you, most solemnly tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains (just one grain; it never becomes more but lives) by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.” (John 12:24).
Religious-minded people want miracles and power. Intellectually minded people want wisdom and truth. However, what God offers us first and foremost is the Cross. There isn’t a more liberating, redeeming, precious, momentous or glorious work in all of history than the Cross of Jesus Christ.
To the early believers the Cross was the wisdom of God and the power of God. To the Jews the preaching of the cross was a stumbling block and to the Gentiles absurdity and utterly un-philosophical nonsense but to those who are called, whether Jew or Gentile, Christ (crucified) is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24 AMP).
For the story and the message of the cross is sheer absurdity (illogical) and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition (hell), but to us who are being saved it is the (manifestation of) the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Praise the Lord! If you want to know the wisdom and power of God – look to the Cross! If you want to see the Glory (beauty, wonder, splendour, magnificence) of God – look to the Cross! If you want to live a victorious life – look to the Cross! If you want to understand suffering – look to the cross! Consider the words of this inspiring hymn:
When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
(Isaac Watts)
Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins. He died on a cross and rose again to defeat the power of sin and death in the life of everyone who believes. The finished (complete) work of the Cross gave a fatal blow to our sinful nature once and for all, empowering us to live a life of victory (2 Corinthians 5:15-17).
Read also Isaiah 53. So, what does the Cross mean to you? Is its timeless power still working in your life today? Is the Cross in your view or has it become obscure? Does it simply signify that your sins are forgiven and that’s it?