The Hidden Cross

This morning as I was leaving work at Christian Horizons I turned onto our main street and, for the first time ever (I think), noticed the steeple of St. Peter's Church towering above the trees. The church is many blocks away but the steeple with a cross at the top of the downtown church is very visible from the north end of town.

As I drove down into the city, the steeple became hidden from view. There were too many other "things" in the way in our hectic downtown area. Gradually the cross had become hidden by those "things". You know the point I'm going to make don't you!

The cross of Christ should be the central focus of our lives as believers. The apostle Paul wrote, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Galatians 6:14

All too often we become busy with less important things and the cross fades from view.

The hymnwriter so aptly wrote:

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.

Refrain:

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.

Dear friends, don't let the busyness of life and the obsession with "things" hide the cross from view.

I just thought of a verse of another hymn as I finish this post...

"In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o'er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story, gathers round its head sublime."

'Neath the Shadow of the Cross

My good friend Paul Mackay is a boarder in my mother's home, the ol' homestead where I spent my childhood.

Precious memories!

Recently Paul captured the imprint of the cross on his Bible as the bright sunshine cascaded across his bedroom...my parents' bedroom when I was growing up. He posted the photo on his blog, Still Rambling.

Oh that the cross would be at the center of all that we do. The main focus of our lives. "But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Galatians 6:14) It was on the cross that our redemption was purchased by the blood of the Lamb. Redemption is the grand theme of the Bible from cover to cover. May we never forget the impact of the cross, the import of the cross and may we ever bear, in our lives, the imprint of the cross.