What comes to mind when you think about the cross of Jesus Christ? What relevance does it have in our lives?
1. Humility. The cross is about the self-humbling of God when He showed us that He loves us so much He chose to become a human being to die one of the most cruel deaths possible. In John 13:1, Jesus showed the full extent of His love and humility by washing the feet of His disciples. Humility is not self-degradation but rather, according to C. S. Lewis, self-forgetfulness. Jesus knew who He was and what He was all about which gave Him the security to be free of the preoccupation of His rights and position in life and instead adopt the posture of a servant. He was the ultimate suffering servant as He laid down His life on the cross. When we suffer we can look to the cross to draw us out of our arrogance and self-sufficiency and be secure in His love, secure enough to serve wherever we are in life.
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Before Pastor Knechtle's sermon, Olaf Schneider shared how he learned about love and his relationship with Christ.
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2. Peace. Jesus' death on the cross is about bringing peace to our lives. Colossians 1:19-20 - "For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things whether things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through His blood shed on the cross." We have been alienated from God and Jesus went through agony to make peace between us and God by dying on the cross. As we see how committed God is to making peace, we should also be ambitious and committed to making peace. It takes work and the power and grace of God to be a peacemaker.
3. Yielding to the Will of the Father. John 4:34 - "My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work." Jesus went to Jerusalem to fulfill His purpose in life, to die and to do His Father's will. He knew He wasn't there by accident. In 2 Chronicles 1:10, King Solomon says to God, invoking the guidance of the almighty, "Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours." When you begin to look at the cross, you will see that God is good and He really loves us. We are to have a profound deep yielding to the Father's will. As a result, we should let go of our pride and self-centeredness and yield to God.
4. The holiness, love, justice, mercy of God. In spite of the brutality, pain and Christ's grotesque death on the cross, evil can not dwell in God's presence because God is pure and holy. There is a penalty for evil; evil will ultimately be destroyed. God is just, merciful and delights in forgiving and putting the broken pieces of our lives back together again. He accepts us as the sinners we are through the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus became a human to rescue us and absorb the just penalty for our sins. The cross offers forgiveness and restores our relationship with God. Forgiveness doesn't mean we gloss over evil and pretend it didn't happen. We contemplate how much God has forgiven us so we can forgive others.
Summary submitted by Karen Walsh
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