The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield[a] and the horn[b] of my salvation, my stronghold.Psalm 18:2
No matter how much in shambles your life may be, there is always hope when you see the cross. That was the mood of the moment when construction workers responsible in the rescue effort happened to find this mangled cross beam that became their hope- a hope that God would help them weather the greatest storm in their lives.
The cross isn't attractive when you think about it. For many living during the life of Christ, the cross represented pain, suffering, blood stains, unresolved trauma and even nightmares and flashbacks following the loss of loved one through crucifixion.
Imagine being on the hillside the day of such a event. As you stand there, you see soldiers tying timbers together making 3 crosses and when that was done they bring 3 men to the cross ready to suffer the sentences that were rendered to them. Two of the men were found guilty of their crimes and in the law of that time deserved the sentence. The third, Jesus Christ, was the one the ruler could not find any reason for such a harsh sentence, but had no choice when the people decided that he should die.
Imagine the horror of watching these soldiers nailing stakes into each man's feet, arms and hands, being careful not to kill them for they wanted each of them to suffer and die during the actual crucifixion, not before.
Imagine those who remained with Christ looking up at the face of Jesus with tears streaming down their eyes and heaving heavy sobs trying to find a way to save Jesus who in their minds did so much good in the short life he lived.
If we stopped at the crucifixion, we miss the really important part of the story which is the catharsis for our own lives- that Christ died for you and me.
We forget the empty tomb where Mary and some of his followers happened to find the stone that had been rolled away. We forget the encounters that many of his followers had on the road with him, or the fish fry he ate with them, or appearing in the room with many others before his resurrection.
We forget that Christ isn't dead, but he is alive. We forget that he promised to give us the gift of his holy spirit as a reminder of his everlasting presence in our lives. We even forget that when we receive Him into our lives, our lives are sealed with him.
Those construction workers who found this mangled cross beam cross in a sea of unrecognizable rubble found the hope they needed to continue what would be the worse job in their lives.
Many of us remember what we were doing at the moment September 11, 2001 occurred. Many, no doubt, felt for the men, woman, children who were on those two planes that crashed into the towers. Most have a hard time forgetting the images of the workers in those towers waving towels to get the attention of the rescuers and the few who jumped to their deaths rather than being burned in the inferno.
In the post September 11th years, the cross helped us heal from the pain of that event. We knew that to recover from the trauma and the pain, our only hope was to turn to God in our quiet times, our weekly Church attendance, and in our Bible reading.
The Cross of Jesus Christ, the blood stain cross, reminds us that God loves you so much that he was willing to die for you and all the rest of humanity.
So no matter what personal tragedy might have occurred in your own life, Jesus Christ is ready to take the burden off of you and nail them to His cross.
The cross of Christ continues to stand the test of time because He lives.
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