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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Carry
Your Cross I have always maintained
that the cross of Christ is a multi-facetted, one-time historic event
which didn't just provide forgiveness of our sins so we could end up in
heaven when we die. Furthermore,
the cross of Christ has been a symbol of many things over the centuries
that have little to nothing to do with its Biblical symbol.
In the first-century
Greco Roman world the cross was a symbol of a powerful authoritarianism
that executed non-Romans who violated Roman rule.
Beginning in the fourth century Roman Empire and throughout the era
of the Holy Roman Empire
the cross was a symbol of military conquest over other nations.
As Europeans discovered the new world the cross became a symbol of
economic expansionism. On
January 6, 2021 the cross was a symbol of a violent overthrow of
government. The cross can now
be seen displayed on necklaces by those promoting their political
preference. If you were involved in
the Jesus People Movement of the 1960's and 1970's as I was, you may
recall Arthur Blessitt carrying a large cross as he traveled the world
preaching the gospel. Recently,
I've heard of a man in my city carrying a cross as he walks our streets.
What does the cross mean
to you, especially in light of Jesus telling us to carry our cross?
Read Luke 14:27.
"And
whoever does not carry
their cross and
follow me cannot be my disciple."
Was Jesus telling us to
carry a cross everywhere we go? Should
we wear a chain around our necks displaying a cross?
There's nothing inherently wrong with both, but it's not what Jesus
had in mind. Note the word
"disciple" in what Jesus said.
A disciple of Jesus is one who is actively imitating Jesus' life
with the help of God's Spirit within him or her.
A disciple of Jesus will be seen carrying a cross in the way he or
she lives. You might say that
a disciple of Jesus is to be a "living cross," similar to being
a "living letter" written by Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:3) or a
"living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1).
The earthly life and
death of Jesus teaches us that the symbolic meaning of His cross is to be a
demonstration of humility, love, mercy, grace, redemption, reconciliation,
and restoration that is demonstrated through sacrifice. I opened this article by
saying the cross of Christ is a one-time historical event.
I say that because Jesus is no longer on a cross.
He now sits on His heavenly throne.
It's why when I sing songs about coming to the foot of the cross, I
am actually coming to the foot of His all-powerful universal throne, where
Revelation 5:6 portrays Him as being the eternal Lamb of God.
Right now, in real time and throughout eternity Jesus is and will
forever be seen as being a living sacrifice who can empower us to be a living
cross. It's what carrying our
cross is all about.
Scripture
References 2 Corinthians 3:3 "You show that you
are a letter from Christ, the result of our
ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge
you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and
proper worship." Revelation 5:6 "Then I saw a Lamb,
looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of
the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb
had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of
God sent out into all the earth."
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