Live With The Cross

We all go through tough times.  She drove into the parking lot of our church on night and turned off the car.  She just sat there.  You see, up to this point in her life she was going through some tough times.  Disease had begun to take it toll because infection had ravaged her body and she was losing strength.  On top of this she was gaining weight and finding more difficult to get around.  After spending weeks in the hospital she hoped that health was going to return.  It didn’t.  On the way home she stopped by Divine Peace at night and just stared at the cross.  We have a plain cross on the front of our tower that has LED lighting behind it.  As she sat there a thought came to her, “This is my church!”  Then she drove home.  

It was November 15, 2021 I was getting the mail and found a letter from Terri-Lynn Wolschlager.  I opened it up and there inside was a check for $63.27.  I put the check in the offering plate and wrote a letter to Mrs. Wolschlager acknowledging her offering and told her I would be happy to meet her and share more information about Divine Peace.  I also put the link to our online worship.  Then I waited.  About a month later another letter from Terri-Lynn Wolschlager showed up.  This time the check was for $23.44.  Interesting amount.  Again I wrote a letter, but I also noted the address on the check and drove to her house.  No one was home and it looked deserted.  I wrote another thank you letter.  And the checks kept showing up and the amount also increased to $122.66, and I keep writing her back.  But, then I had an idea.  As I wrote her back I included my BIC class in the letters.  34 letters later in January of 2024 it all came to a halt.  I guess my cross was writing all those letters and wondering if I would ever get to meet Terri-Lynn.

We all carry crosses in life, and suppose my cross of writing letters of thank you and Bible Information Class information to someone who never responded was a cross. It is also interesting that the cross has become one of the more famous religious symbols in Christianity.   You see the cross on churches, in jewelry, and around the necks of athletes.  It makes we wonder what the cross means to people because the Lord knows that we all live with crosses.  As we meditate on Jesus’ second word from the cross may the Holy Spirit inspire us to

Live With The Cross

That Weighs Us Down

We all know that the cross began as a cruel means of execution.  We also know that crucifixion was reserved for the worse criminals, or for the most hated people.  Josephus records 2000 Jews who were crucified for their rebellion against the Romans.  For the people of Jesus’ day, the cross represented the worse way to die.  For the people who knew the Old Testament, dying on a cross meant you were also cursed by God.  All of this changed when emperor Constantine took over.  For some reason he adopted the cross as a symbol of triumph and placed crosses on the shields of his army.  Perhaps he got the idea from the words that are before us.

Jesus was led out to be crucified with two criminals.  When they came to the place called, “The Skull,” they were crucified.  This fulfilled Scripture that said,

“he let himself be counted with rebellious sinners. He himself carried the sin of many”

Isaiah 53:12

Jesus allowed himself to be nailed to the cross and lowered himself to the level of criminal.  Yes, the cross meant Jesus hung at our level.  And at the level of a criminal Jesus received the ridicule of the people and even the mocking of one hanging next to him:

“³⁹ One of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 

These are hard words for us to hear. This criminal blasphemes Christ, mocking his claim to be the Son of God.  Our blood boils to hear these words.  But, Jesus’ cross was weighed down with his Father’s will AND HIS LOVE FOR YOU.

Sadly, there is more weighing down on Jesus.  We have more in common with that criminal and the mocking crowd than we would like to admit.  We add to the weight of sin when we curse and swear, when we let our eyes lust after the treasures and pleasures of this world.  I have heard people say they believe in Jesus, but turn right around and chase after their sins.  That isn’t believing in Jesus, that is mocking Jesus just like the criminal.  These are sins that weigh us down and we deserve to be nailed to the cross of punishment and hell!  It was our sin, rebellion and blasphemy that weighed down on Jesus’ cross.

Those criminals next to Jesus were weighed down while nailed to their crosses, too.  But, then one of the criminals becomes silent.  He feels the pain of the cross he is nailed to, and he feels the weight of sins for which he is hanging on that cross.  The silence is broken:

“⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 

We know what’s happening here.  This criminal was living with the cross of his sins that weighed him down.  The Word Jesus had spoken worked on his heart.  He now defends Jesus’ innocence and confesses his sinful life.  The cross for this criminal meant a change was taking place in his sinful heart. He was Living with the Cross that Weighed Him Down, but he was learning about Jesus and his heart was being changed by the power of God’s Word through the work of the Holy Spirit.  He now looks to Jesus on the Cross to lift him up!

That Lifts Us Up

Years ago there was a show on TV where the CEOs of companies would go undercover to work with their employees (Undercover Boss).  They would work assembly lines, answer phones, and pack boxes.  The goal of the boss was to get a better idea on how things were working and make better decisions in management.  It was always a big shock when the employees learned they were rubbing shoulders with the CEO of the company.  After this event many of the employees were lifted up in loyalty, dedication and often time, in promotions by their boss, too.

You’ve got the picture!  The CEO of heaven went undercover and visited his “Humanity Company.”  He rubbed shoulders with us to the point of experiencing every temptation that we have faced, only was without sin.  You can sense the shock of the criminal next to Jesus when he says,

“but this man has done nothing wrong.”

Faith was being sparked in this criminal.  You know what change is happening!  He was repenting.  As he hung on his cross and realized the consequences of his own sins, he recalled something he had heard about Jesus.  Maybe it was something about the promised Messiah that learned about when he was younger?  Maybe it was his own knowledge of the Old Testament that prophesied how the Messiah would be mocked and hung from a tree?  Or maybe it was the 1^st words Jesus had just spoken to the soldiers nailing him to the cross?  Regardless of how he knew, he knew and now believed that the cross meant his Savior was hanging next to him.

He confesses his sin.  He defends Jesus. And then he turns to Jesus and says,

“Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” 

To this criminal Jesus hanging on the cross was no longer the cross of burden, but the cross to Lift Him UP and have forgiveness for his sins!  The cross of Jesus was his rescue from sin and the means to Lift Him Up to the doorway of God’s eternal kingdom in Paradise.

And Jesus, who was shown no mercy by humanity, proclaimed mercy to that criminal.

“⁴³ Jesus said to him, “Amen I tell you: Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Death on a cross usually took several days, but the cross of this man would bring about his death that now had become the doorway to heaven.  Jesus told him this very day you’ll be there.  You will be there with me.  That will be enough.  Please don’t crowd heaven with all your death relatives that you hope to see again, or the pets, or the food, or the entertainment and carnal desires of your heart from this earth.  No, leave it behind!  You will be with Jesus.  The cross means Jesus lifts us from the burdens of this life, to the joy of being with him.

The cross means different things to different people.  For Terri-Lynn Wolschlager it meant she found a church.  But, why couldn’t I find her?  Well, it happened.  About a month ago I got a call from her sister.  She told me Terri-Lynn was in the hospital and asked if I would go visit her.  (YES!)  She also told me Terri was worried that she was going to die and one of the visiting hospital pastors told her she was a wonderful woman and she didn’t need to worry.  Well, that made her worry!  So, I drove to visit Terri-Lynn.  I walked into the room and she recognized me from online.  She broke down in tears and we talked.  And what do you think I talked about?  I talked about the cross she had been carrying for all these years.  Then I talked about the cross she saw on the front of Divine Peace.  I talked about Jesus who died to pay the penalty of all our sins.  I talked about God who declared us all not guilty.  I talked about the joy that awaits her in heaven because Jesus died to wash away all her sins.  She smiled and said, “Nice to meet you.  Thank you for pointing me to Jesus who died on the cross for me.”

Yes, on this Good Friday we all recall the crosses we are carrying due to sin.  Those crosses weigh us down.  But, today I’m here to point you to Jesus’ Cross that Lifts you UP!  Perhaps this is why Constantine loved putting crosses on shields.  Dear Christian friends, Live With The Cross of Jesus as you anticipate the day when Jesus says to you, “Welcome to Paradise!”  Amen!