Empty Crosses

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

The Father continues to impress upon me the importance of going back to the cross. Granted the cross itself holds no power but the fact it stands empty tells us the work has been done and the power is in the resurrection – the life after the cross.

In thinking about the cross this morning I apply it to my situation. I have been feeling extremely uneasy in the level of sacrifice I am presently being called to make. Honestly, I feel this sacrifice it a bit over the top! It is my present sacrifice on top of past sacrifices. It is a cross that never kills me but slowly depletes me. It is my cross to bear in this season of my life and it feels as if it will never topple.

Going back to the cross of our Savior, I realize that it embodies sacrifice (…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many – Matt.20:28). It involves suffering and surrender (‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.’ Matt 2:29). It involves the temporary loss of life to gain the permanent resurrection of life. The cross ended in death but hangs empty as a symbol of a resurrected life.

Our crosses to bear are just as temporary and will serve as our testimonies once out of our seasons of suffering. It will hang empty embodying the fact that through Christ we are positioned with Him and will be victorious over our trials. It will symbolize that we are saved through the blood of our Savior and will never be asked to sacrifice at that level. It may feel like it but it pales in comparison. ‘If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to give for Him.’ C.T. Stuff

May we all be encouraged as we continue to bear our burdens with the absolute belief in a future season with an empty cross, a resurrected life and a life everlasting.