Scripture:  1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:2

The Message of the Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV).

William Temple says that “seeing the Cross helps to feed my mind with the truth of God.”  Similarly, in I Corinthians, the apostle Paul argues that wisdom and power are to be found in the cross.

The truth of God is to be found not in the wisdom of the present age but in the radical and scandalous nature of the cross.  It seems to be an insult to our sensibilities that through the blood shed on the cross we can indeed gain newness of life.  Yet, William Cowper’s words ring true:

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

The cross expresses the truth of God’s saving work–yes, but it is also the truth of discipleship.  Seeing the cross should speak to our minds directly of our cross-carrying responsibilities.  The call of Jesus is clear: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).  And similarly, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).

Let us see the cross; let its truth be expressed in our lives; and let us walk by way of the cross since that way leads home.

TLT