The Fullness of The Cross

On Good Friday my heart is full, is your heart full, too?  The very idea that the perfect Son of God would willingly put on skin, come to earth, and die a cruel death so that I can actually be one with Him makes me speechless.  This amazing, holy gift of His death (which I confess that I don’t think about as much as I think about what I get out of this God/me relationship) is packed full of the “amazing grace” that we sing about.  It’s so full that there’s no more room to squeeze anything else in.  Everything is full.  It’s just as Jesus said.  “It is finished.”  Paid. In. Full.

On the cross He took our sins. Every one of them. He bore on Himself our lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, adultery, porn addiction, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, food addiction, work addiction, child abuse, spousal abuse, elderly abuse, self abuse, bigotry, laziness, bitterness, guilt, fits of rage, murder, impurity, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, quarreling, strife, cliques, arrogance, pretensions, overbearing pride, meanness, self-entitlement, envy, debauchery, hostility, scheming, superstitions…shall I go on?

I figure that just one of the sins on the list above (which isn’t a list of all of them) weighs at least a ton, and when they are all added together the weight would surely be unbearable.  But Christ did bear them, and He did it fully.

He did this for you.  So when you take hold of this gift you have to learn how to live in it…how to grow in it. When a person becomes a Christian he or she isn’t magically and immediately perfect.  Ha.  If you were perfect immediately, for what then would you need God?  The joy is in the journey.  The fullness of the cross is that gift which you have to take on little by little, “from glory to glory.”  Abundant life that’s lived in both large and small steps. New life, pure life, back to “the reason we were all created” life.  He died so that we may live!

If you see a particular sin of yours (or several) in the list above, take time right now, this very minute, to thank Jesus for taking on that sin for you.  The sinless Son of God was the Only One who could take on and remove sin.  And when He paid our debt He killed every one of those sins.  He killed them and they are dead…never to rise again.  Do you believe it?  “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”  You have to believe, and the Spirit knows it.  And the Spirit is the One who wants to help you believe.  He’s waiting to hear you ask Him to help you believe that Jesus killed your sins.  Ask and receive the fullness of the cross.

Jesus volunteered to go through the hell of what should be our crucifixion in order that we may be whole.  He made us alive.  That’s why this Friday is “Good.”  The disciples were shocked, hit in the gut.  Even though Jesus had already told them, they could not in their wildest dreams have imagined what was coming next.  Stay tuned.  Sunday is on the way…

Scripture to ponder:  Ephesians 1 

Today’s weapon:  “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  John 8:36